Airbus wins $1.8b order from Philippine Airlines

SIingapore: Airbus secured an order from Philippine Airlines valued at $1.8 billion as the Southeast Asian carrier seeks to fly to New York and the United States West coast.
Closely held Philippine Air will take delivery of the A350-900s in two years and the aircraft are meant to replace older A340 models, Jaime Bautista, president of the carrier, said at the Singapore Airshow on Wednesday.
The agreement with Airbus includes an option to purchase six more of Airbus’s latest widebody jet. The order value is based on the $308 million list price of the aircraft, before discounts that are customary in the industry.
Airbus, Boeing, Mitsubishi Aircraft and ATR have announced orders totaling $4.2 billion this week at the Singapore Airshow amid concern that a two-year, multi-billion- dollar order spree by Asian carriers is losing steam. Chicago-based Boeing on Wednesday announced a $1.3 billion order with China’s Okay Air.
The two days of orders at the airshow come amid speculation the heyday of giant orders from India and Southeast Asian nations is ending, and that airlines in the region might have to delay delivery of planes as economic growth slows.
On Sunday, International Air Transport Association president Tony Tyler said Southeast Asian airlines may defer plane orders as they battle overcapacity and intense competition among half a dozen low-fare carriers. Budget airlines in the region have garnered 54 per cent market share, more than twice the global average, Tyler said.
Philippine Air was debating between Airbus’s A350 and Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, Bautista said last year.
Boeing wins order
Boeing secured a $1.3 billion order for narrow-body planes from Okay Airways, with the Chinese regional carrier set to decide on its first wide-body order by the end of the year as it seeks to expand internationally.
Okay Air agreed to buy 12 single-aisle 737s, with an option to purchase eight more, Boeing said at the Singapore Airshow on Wednesday. The Chinese carrier, which is headquartered in Beijing and counts Tianjin as its hub, is purchasing eight 737Max-8, three 737MAX-9 and one 737 NG900-ER.
The purchase on the second day of the Singapore Airshow comes amid speculation that the heyday of big orders from India and Southeast Asia is ending, and that airlines in the region might have to delay delivery of planes as economic growth slows. Boeing expects China to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest aviation market in 20 years.
Okay Air chairman Wang Shusheng told reporters on Wednesday that the airline needs more planes with its load factor at 90 per cent. The carrier plans to fly to Hawaii and Fiji using wide-body planes, and will decide between Airbus’ A350 and Boeing’s 787 by the end of the year, he said.