"Airbus Is Very Much Back In The Market"

Ah, Paris. That familiar phrase should be echoing throughout the halls at the Toulouse headquarters of Airbus for some time to come, after the European planemaker -- better known recently for its strife, than its success -- leaves the 2007 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget with 425 firm orders throughout its product line, and another 303 purchase commitments.

Those figures include 13 new orders for the planemaker's A380 superjumbo, bringing the total orders and commitments for the A380 to 173. Delivery to launch carrier Singapore Airlines will take place in October this year.

The oft-delayed A350 XWB program also received a needed shot in the arm, with a total of 141 firm orders from five customers during the week. The customers include Qatar, Aeroflot, Singapore Airlines and lessors Alafco and CIT. In addition, the A350 XWB also received commitments for 52 aircraft from four additional customers -- US Airways, Kingfisher, Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah.

This brings the total orders and commitments received so far for the all new A350 XWB, which was launched in December last year, to 232 aircraft, including 154 firm orders and 78 commitments. Granted, that's a far cry from the over 600 firm orders Boeing has for its 787 Dreamliner, which will fly at least five years sooner than its Airbus rival... but it's an impressive gain for the Airbus widebody nonetheless.

"This airshow has confirmed that Airbus is very much back on the market, continuing to satisfy customers with the right products," said Airbus CEO Louis Gallois. "Especially the A380 and A350 XWB have been the highlight of the show, receiving tremendous customer endorsement.... This should give us further incentive to pursue our efforts to turn the company around in order to be able to deliver on our promises."

The planemaker's A330/A340 Family received 132 orders and commitments, buoyed by the "stand-in" role those planes will have with carriers awaiting their A350 XWBs. The new A330-200 Freighter won as many as 46 firm orders, from five different customers around the world.

And, of course, there's Airbus' popular single-aisle A320 family, which gained 390 orders and commitments in Paris. Those numbers include a Memorandum of Understanding for 50 planes, signed by Singapore low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Thursday.

The orders from Paris give Airbus over 600 firm orders for the year, giving it the current lead in its annual sales race with Boeing. To date, Boeing has signed 510 firm orders for 2007.

FMI: www.airbus.com