Paris air show is showering billions on the Airbus as on the third day of the gala, it booked 59 more firm orders for its next-generation A350-XWB passenger jets.
Airbus has booked a strong 166 aircraft order, bringing its haul for the first three days of the event to 548 planes worth $75.7 billion on the basis of catalog prices. Of that total, 358 were firm orders and 190 were commitments that are likely to be converted into firm orders in the coming months.
On the other side, world No 1 commercial plane-maker Boeing Co, has announced $15.9 billion worth of orders at the show, but almost all are firm bookings.
Boeing is confident for its fuel-efficient Dreamliners, and aiming to beg more orders from the airlines. Recently American plane-maker has regain acme position from its only European rival Airbus after five straight years.
The tussle of dominance between Airbus and Boeing has reached in a crucial stage as both are trying to lure customers with their modern A350 and the 787 carrier plane. This air show proved a much lucrative for the Airbus as it sold more plane than the Boeing, but still needs a significant score to surpass American carrier maker, which has already 634 orders for its Dreamliner in its kitty.
To sell more plane both plane makers are offering a hefty discounts of 30 percent to 35 percent of published list prices to the first several customers and also compensating with buyers for any potential risks, like delivery delays or unforeseen changes to the plane’s design or performance.
Commercial terms of all aircraft contracts are kept strictly confidential. But speculation is rife that Airbus is discounting its A350-XWB more than normal because it was far behind its archrival Boeing in the increasingly popular midsize plane class. About 50 of the orders for the A350-XWB are actually conversions of contracts signed by five customers for a previous version of the plane, the A350, which underwent a drastic redesign last year in response to customers who wanted more fuel efficiency and more seating capacity.
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Via: IHT
