Airbus’ 135 bookings during June involved A320 single-aisle Family jetliners in the current and new engine option (CEO and NEO) versions, along with widebody A330ceo and A350 aircraft; while the month’s listed 61 deliveries spanned its current production range from the A320 Family to the A330, A350 and A380.
One of the largest orders was Dubai-based International Airfinance Corporation’s acquisition of 30 A320ceo aircraft and 20 A330-300s for lease to Saudi Arabian Airlines. As a result, Saudi Arabian Airlines will become the world’s first carrier to operate the new A330-300 Regional variant, which is specially designed for regional and domestic operations and offers Airbus’ solution for markets with large populations and fast growing, concentrated air traffic flows.
Another major agreement in June was the 45 A320neo and 15 A321neo jetliners ordered by GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the aviation leasing and financing arm of General Electric. This brings A320 Family aircraft ordered by GECAS to a total of 465.
The other single-aisle transactions during June were nine A320neos for Lion Air; six A321ceos for VietJet Air, further increasing this fast-growing Vietnamese carrier’s all-Airbus fleet; two A320ceos and one A321ceo for Air Lease Corporation; three A320ceos for Japanese low cost carrier Peach Aviation; and one A320ceo for Atlantic Airways.
With this new A320 Family business, Airbus surpassed the total of 11,800 overall orders for its single-aisle jetliners.
Widebody orders during the month were Air Lease Corporation’s booking for one A350-900 and an A330-200, bringing the Los Angeles based aircraft leasing company’s portfolio of Airbus aircraft to total of 262; along with an A330-200 for Airbus Defence and Space, which will be outfitted by the Airbus Group business unit as a Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) for the French military.
The June bookings brought Airbus’ net orders through the first six months of 2015 to 348 aircraft, taking cancellations into account.
Airbus’ delivery of 42 A320 Family jetliners in June brought overall Airbus single-aisle aircraft deliveries to more than 6,600, while the total A330s provided to customers surpassed the 1,200 mark.
Included in the month’s activity were deliveries of 19 widebody aircraft, among which were: three A380s; two A350s (one to AerCap for Vietnam Airlines, and the other to A350 launch operator Qatar Airways); the second A330-300 to Delta Air Lines with an increased 242 tonne maximum take-off weight; the initial A330 for Tunisair (an A330-200); and the first A330 to Kuwait Airways (in the A330-200 version).
During the first six months of 2015, Airbus delivered a total of 304 aircraft to 67 customers worldwide.
By Leandro Maldonado
