AirAsia's 100-jet Paris order pits Airbus A220 against Embraer
[PARIS] Low-cost carrier AirAsia is poised to order about 100 regional jets at the Paris Air Show next week, with the Malaysian airline still undecided between the Airbus A220 or Embraer's E2, according to people familiar with the matter.
Negotiations with the manufacturers are coming down to the wire, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential. Attractive financing is a key requirement for AirAsia and could sway the final decision, they said.
The budget airline, overseen by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, is mounting a comeback after scaling back operations and restructuring its finances during the Covid-19 pandemic. Fernandes, 61, plans to travel to Paris to unveil a deal, the people said.
Representatives for AirAsia, Airbus and Embraer declined to comment. Reuters reported earlier that Airbus was in advanced discussions on a deal with AirAsia for at least 100 A220s.
To date, Airbus has supplied all of AirAsia's jets, giving the European planemaker an incumbent's advantage in the competition. The carrier has 240 mostly single-aisle aircraft in its fleet, and a backlog of more than 350 orders for the top-selling A320 family of jets.
A three-digit order haul for Airbus's smallest commercial jet would be a major boost to the A220 programme, which has been beset by slow sales and supply-chain issues that have impeded output. The A220 is produced at plants in Mirabel, Canada, and Mobile, Alabama.
The A220 has not secured any order commitments in 2025, and managed gross orders of 17 last year, leading to shrinking backlog after cancellations were included. The narrowbody series had 486 orders to fulfil at the end of May, compared with more than 7,000 for the larger A320 family.
For Embraer, a win would expand its footprint in Asia and mark one of its largest orders yet from a single airline. The Brazilian manufacturer has scored major deals with Singapore Airlines' budget carrier Scoot, as well as Virgin Australia and Japan's ANA Holdings.
Embraer has secured 334 firm orders for its E2 jet, with around 175 outstanding. The planemaker has touted its ability to deliver jets far sooner than Airbus or Boeing as part of its sales pitch. BLOOMBERG
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Independent Singapore
4 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Income Insurance to fully reimburse policyholders with Jetstar Asia bookings after July 31
- Advertisement - Income Insurance has announced it will fully reimburse affected policyholders who made flight bookings after July 31 following Jetstar Asia's closure announcement, despite the event not being listed under its insured perils, Singapore Business Review reported. This includes hotel stays, theme park tickets, and transport costs, as long as they can show non-refundable proof. On June 11, Qantas announced that its Singapore-based budget airline will cease operations on July 31, affecting more than 500 employees. Singapore Business Review reported that the company closure is part of its move to shift $500 million in capital towards upgrading its fleet and focusing on core operations in Australia and New Zealand. - Advertisement - Jetstar Asia's 13 Airbus A320 aircraft will be redeployed to Australia and New Zealand to support local operations, which will create over 100 new jobs there. While 16 intra-Asia routes will end, Jetstar Airways and Jetstar Japan operations will continue. For this financial year, Jetstar Asia is expected to report an EBIT loss of $35 million. /TISG Read also: Changi Airport too costly for a budget airline like Jetstar? The prospects and pitfalls for low-cost carriers
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Boeing CEO cancels trip to Paris Airshow, GE postpones investor day after fatal crash
The decisions by Boeing and GE come as delegates said the crash is casting a somber mood over the Paris Airshow. PHOTO: AFP Follow our live coverage here. Boeing and GE Aerospace are scaling back their public activities following the fatal crash of an Air India jetliner, with the planemaker's CEO cancelling his trip to the Paris Airshow next week and GE postponing an investor day. More than 240 people were killed when an Air India Boeing 787 jet bound for London crashed moments after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad on June 12 , authorities said, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to staff on June 12 evening that he and Boeing Commercial Airplanes boss Stephanie Pope had cancelled plans to attend the Paris Airshow 'so we can be with our team and focus on our customer and the investigation'. The air show, which runs from June 16 to June 20 at Le Bourget, is the global aviation industry's largest trade show, where many aircraft orders are typically placed by airlines. Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace, whose engines were in the Boeing 787 plane, had planned an investor day on June 17 coinciding with the show. The company said on June 12 that the briefing had been cancelled and it would put a team together to go to India and analyse data from the crashed airplane. 'GE Aerospace's senior leadership is focused on supporting our customers and the investigation,' the company said in a statement. GE said it planned to give a financial update later this month. The decisions by Boeing and GE come as delegates said the crash is casting a somber mood over the Paris Airshow. One delegate said the show would go on and business would continue but with fewer of the high-profile press conferences and in-person announcements associated with the industry's biggest commercial showcase. Another said some order announcements could be delayed until later in the year as a mark of respect for victims of the accident. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
7 hours ago
- Business Times
Air India crash latest test for new Boeing leadership
[NEW YORK] The devastating Air India crash seems certain to embroil Boeing in further rounds of negative headlines at a time when it has shown progress under new leadership. Shares of the American plane manufacturer finished down nearly five per cent on Thursday as the pope, King Charles and the president of India expressed sorrow over the Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people. 'Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,' said Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, adding in a statement that he told Air India's chairman Boeing would support the probe. The calamity, the first deadly crash of a 787, comes just before Ortberg and other aerospace leaders converge at Le Bourget Airport for next week's Paris Air Show. Prior to Thursday, industry insiders expected the focus at Le Bourget to include the aviation sector's adaptation to trade tensions, the latest state-of-the-art flying technologies and the outlook for any improvement in the supply chain that has slowed deliveries from Boeing and rival Airbus. But the crash is also certain to be a major topic of conversation, as well as a source of speculation and sobriety. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'A week from now there probably will be one or two operating hypothesis of what happened that people at the show and the public will be talking about,' said Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens. Only time will tell what the accident means for Boeing, but Owens still expects the company to rack up additional 787 orders next week in Paris. 'It's highly improbable that people conclude that it's a systemic problem with the engine or the plane,' he said. MAX crashes different Air India's flight 171 issued a mayday call and crashed 'immediately after takeoff,' the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. British and US investigators were en route to western India for an investigation expected to involve reviews of flight data, maintenance records and the background of the crew. 'When an international incident occurs, that government leads the investigation,' said the US Federal Aviation Administration. The ill-fated plane was delivered to Air India in 2014 and had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, according to consultancy Cirium. That makes Thursday's tragedy different from the two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that involved planes Boeing had only recently delivered to airlines. A central factor in both MAX crashes was the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight handling system that badly malfunctioned, pointing to design flaws. The MAX crashes plunged Boeing into a years-long slump extended by fresh safety problems early in 2024. Boeing has reported annual losses the last six years. Since introducing the Dreamliner into service in 2011, Boeing has had to do some reworks, mainly due to assembly faults and manufacturing quality issues. The plane was also scrutinised in an April 2024 US Senate hearing that aired criticism from a whistleblower who testified that he was blackballed after reporting serious manufacturing defects on the 787 and the 777. Attorneys representing the whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, called on the FAA to release its findings about the allegations. 'The FAA must assure the public that the Boeing 787 is safe,' said attorney Lisa Banks. 'While it may take months or years to determine the cause of today's tragic Air India crash, we know that there is an important report sitting on a desk at the FAA about the 787 that needs to become public.' On May 29, Ortberg told a financial conference that the recent approval by US aviation authorities to allow increased 787 output was 'an important milestone' in the company's comeback. Ortberg, who relocated to Seattle to be closer to key manufacturing operations, has generally won plaudits from aviation watchers since joining in August 2024, navigating Boeing through a labour strike and joining President Donald Trump's Middle East delegation. Richard Aboulafia, managing director at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said there is no indication of a 787 design flaw. 'There's inevitably fear,' Aboulafia said of Thursday's stock market reaction. 'It's a tragedy but it's unlikely to affect perceptions of the 787 because there's nothing known at this point and it's got a very good record,' he said. But called the crash 'another significant blow to Boeing's reputation as it competes fiercely with Airbus, which has outsold Boeing in aircraft orders for the past five years and could further erode investor and customer trust in the company's ability to deliver safe, reliable aircraft.' AFP
