Airbus Announces $3 Bn Sales Package

This followed a $6.3 billion package announced by Boeing on Monday as the two locked horns over the future of Superjumbo jets in the fast-expanding civilian aircraft market. The two giant order packages lifted the sales total at Farnborough, one of the world's leading aviation showcases, to beyond the $3 billion achieved at the last show in 1994.

Airbus claimed it had now overtaken Boeing in the markets where the two compete head to head. The European consortium's biggest order was for 18 A321 short-haul aircraft from South Korea's Asiana, a new customer for Airbus that could produce further big sales.

 

The international transport company Federal Express took 11 A300-600 freighter aircraft, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific took three more ultra long-range A340-300's and the German airline Condor agreed to buy 12 A320 type planes.

In three separate statements, Airbus said the 26 firm orders and 12 options were placed by the three companies.

Condor promptly denied the Airbus statement that it would buy 12 A320s for delivery in 1998 and 1999 with an option for 12 more. The planes would replace Condor's Boeing 737 fleet on European routes. We have not ordered any Airbuses, a Condor spokeswoman said in Frankfurt. But then Airbus senior vice-president John Leahy said the consortium had initialled an order with Condor.

Airbus said the planes ordered by Federal Express would be powered by General Electric CF6-80C2 engines and used primarily on domestic routes in the United States. Federal Express previously ordered 25 A300-600Fs in 1991, it said.

Cathay Pacific's orders increase to nine the number of firm orders placed by the airline for the four-engine aircraft.

Cathay's planes would be delivered during the second and third quarters of 1998 and would operate between Hong Kong and Europe and North America, it said.