Airbus has secured two large orders from the flagship carriers of Japan and South Korea, giving the European manufacturer a strategic victory in markets traditionally skewed towards rival Boeing.
In particular, Airbus has secured orders to supply 65 aircraft from Boeing’s two major customers in Asia, with Japan Airlines, the second largest airline in Japan and a long-standing Boeing customer, announcing that it will purchase 21 A350-900s and 11 A321neo aircraft from Airbus, leaving Boeing with a smaller deal to buy 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Two hours later, Korean Air Lines, South Korea’s largest carrier, announced the purchase of 33 Airbus A350 aircraft in a $13.7 billion deal with Airbus, taking everything from Boeing.
These business successes are expected to help Airbus deepen its relationship with two carriers that for decades have built most of their fleet around the US manufacturer.
Boeing has been in crisis for several months, following the 737 Max 9 aircraft accident in early January. Nevertheless, the manufacturer has managed to record several large orders as loyal carriers such as Ryanair continue to support it.
This year is set to be a favourable year for wide-body aircraft orders, with Qatar Airways looking to purchase up to 150 twin-aisle aircraft. Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong is considering a major deal involving dozens of mid-size wide-body aircraft. But there are other large narrow-body orders on the horizon, with Cebu Air seeking to complete an order for 150 aircraft.
Korean Air has mostly ordered the larger variant of Airbus’ A350 wide-body model. Of the nearly 160 aircraft in Korean Air’s fleet, 65% are Boeing. The carrier still has about 60 Boeing aircraft pending and about 75 with Airbus after its latest order announcement.
On the other hand, JAL has about 155 Boeing aircraft in its fleet and only 17 Airbus aircraft, according to the company’s latest financial presentation.
Japan Airlines’ restriction of orders from Boeing is not related to the safety issues the carrier is facing, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, but the carrier has taken into account the risk of delays due to these issues.
Both major aircraft manufacturers expect Asia-Pacific to account for 40 percent of global air traffic in two decades, up from one-third, according to their long-term projections.
Demand for larger aircraft and mass markets, optimistic bets on future travel growth and pressures on aircraft manufacturers’ ability to meet demand for single-aisle aircraft this decade are fuelling the increase in large aircraft orders over the past 12 months.
