Airbus Scores $30 Billion In Orders At Dubai Air Show, While Boeing Ponders Fate of 737 MAX

Airbus, the European multinational aerospace and defense corporation, received $30 billion in orders for 170 aircraft from two airlines based in the Middle East at the Dubai Air Show.

Emirates Airlines announced it will buy 50 Airbus A350-900 XWBs (extra wide body) for $16 billion and Air Arabia, a low-cost carrier, followed with a $14 billion purchase of 170 Airbus A320s.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ chairman and chief executive, said the A350s which can fly up to 15 hours and can carry as many as 500 passengers will allow the carrier to expand its long-haul network. The first of these aircraft will be delivered in 2023.

“Complementing our A380s and 777s, the A350s will give us added operational flexibility in terms of capacity, range and deployment,” Maktoum said. “In effect, we are strengthening our business model to provide efficient and comfortable air transport services to, and through, our Dubai hub.”

Emirates had originally intended to buy 30 Airbus A350s and 40 Airbus A330-900 jets, but modified that order to focus solely on the A350.

Adel Ali, Air Arabia’s chief executive, told reporters the new Airbus order represented a "game-changer" for the airline, allowing it to expand in southeast Asia and Africa.

Air Arabia further noted the order will more than triple its fleet size.

Emirates said it is engaged in discussions with Boeing (BA) about acquiring more of its aircraft.

Maktoum noted that it is also talks with the U.S. aerospace company over resolving problems surrounding its 737 MAX aircraft, which have been grounded since March, after two crashes of planes operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air that killed 346 people within a span of five months.

End of A380?

Separately, Airbus said last February it will cease building new versions of its iconic A380 superjumbo jet in 2021 due to, among other things, high costs of operation, and the fact that Emirates earlier scrapped an order for the plane.

There are currently 132 A380s operating among three airlines in the Middlr East – Emirates with 112, and Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways with 10 each.

But Airbus also emphasized it would continue to find buyers in the market for secondhand A380 aircraft.

Paulo Mirpuri, president and CEO of Hi Fly, a Portuguese charter airline, told Forbes earlier this year his carrier might purchase another secondhand A380. “The second (A380) will be a lot easier, so we will be driven by market demand. And we will need to have one full year of operation before we decide about the next one, and the third one, and the fourth one,” he said.

Last month, Airbus said secondhand A380s “offer attractive opportunities to airlines” and that it will support the plane’s existence “for decades to come.”

Airbus’ A380 business development leader Catherine Bras said “From the beginning we knew it would be good for us to help build a market for second-hand aircraft. There may be some airlines that were hesitant to commit long-term who can now try out an A380 and see what it can do for them. This could help create new routes and expand the market base.”