Etihad Airways orders CFM LEAP engine for its A321neo

By BA Staff

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, announced that it has selected CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine to power 26 Airbus A321neo scheduled to begin delivery in 2018. The order is valued at $2.8 billion U.S. at list price, including a long-term services agreement.

To support the new fleet, Etihad has signed a 15-year Rate per Flight Hour (RPFH) agreement, under the terms of which CFM will guarantee maintenance costs on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.

James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways said:

“Etihad Airways prides itself on operating modern, state-of-the-art and highly efficient aircraft, with the Airbus A320 family at the heart of our narrow-body fleet. Through the introduction of the brand new Airbus A320neo family aircraft, we will benefit from even lower fuel consumption and environmental impact on short-haul and medium-haul flights. Much of these operational improvements will derive from the advanced LEAP-1A engine, which has been meeting all performance targets.”

Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International said:

"We are happy to welcome Etihad as a CFM customer. In just 10 years, this airline has built a reputation for excellence in every facet of its business, and we are honored to become part of this team"

Gaël Meheust, vice president of sales for CFM International said:

“We are obviously excited that Etihad chose to power its new A320neo fleet with the LEAP engine. We think this engine is going to be the best we’ve ever built and Etihad will realize the benefits from day one – lower fuel burn, lower noise and emissions, all with CFM’s legendary reliability and low cost of ownership."

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Etihad orders 87 Airbus aircraft

by Devesh Agarwal

Etihad Airways, of the United Arab Emirates, has announced a firm order on European airframer Airbus S.A.S. for 50 A350 XWBs, 36 A320neo aircraft and one A330-200F freighter worth $26.9 billion at list prices.

The contract was signed yesterday at the 2013 Dubai Airshow by James Hogan, Etihad Airways CEO and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO.

The Airbus A350 XWB order will be equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines and deliveries will commence in 2020. The 26 A321neo and 10 A320neo aircraft are scheduled for delivery from 2018, while the A330-200F will arrive in 2017. The neos will be powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines.

Etihad currently operates a fleet of 23 A320 Family aircraft, 25 A330s and 11 A340s.

James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways,

“Ten years ago this month, we celebrated our inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi using an Airbus A330. A decade later, we have grown into one of the world’s leading airlines and the importance of Airbus to our fast-growing operations has never been stronger. We have more than 60 Airbus aircraft in our fleet today, and this latest order is testament to the continued strength of our partnership. As one of the first airlines set to receive the much-awaited Airbus A350-1000, we look forward to benefiting from its operational efficiencies and cost savings.”

The A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) is an all-new "mini jumbo" long range product line comprising three versions, the A350-800, A350-900, A350-1000. In a typical two-class configuration, the A350-900 can seat 315 passengers and the A350-1000 seats 369 passengers. The aircraft will offer the range for Etihad to expand its network around the world. On the same day as it ordered the A350, Etihad also ordered its biggest competition the Boeing 777-9X and 777-8X which can seat 400+ and 350 passengers respectively.

In comparison to the Boeing aircraft, which Etihad is expected to fit with 17 inch width economy class seats, the A350 fuselage cross-section is optimized to accommodate Airbus’ 18-inch economy seat-width for long range passenger comfort. Etihad's new order is expected to commence delivery in 2020, the same time as the Boeing 777-9X.

The A320neo is offered as an option for the A320 Family and incorporates new more efficient engines and large "Sharklet" wing tip devices, which together will deliver up to 15 percent in fuel savings. At the end of October 2013, firm orders for the NEO stood at 2,487 from 44 customers, making it the fastest selling commercial airliner ever.

The A330-200F is the freighter version of the A330. It can carry 70 tonnes of payload with a range capability of up to 4,000nm.

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Jumbo orders from Turkish Airlines and Lion Air further consolidate A320neo lead

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of its first delivery, the European Airbus A320 narrow body, is ratcheting up the pressure on competitor the American Boeing 737 booking two high profile orders during this month.

The first order cames from national Turkish Airlines (THY), which signed a contract, the biggest ever by a Turkish carrier, for up to 117 A320 Family aircraft (25 A321ceo, four A320neo, 53 A321neo and options for 35 additional A321neo aircraft). Turkish Airlines already operates 75 A320 Family aircraft. (ceo=classic engine option, neo=new engine option).

The coup, though, was a 234 A320 Family aircraft order, comprising 109 A320neo, 65 A321neo and 60 A320ceo, from Indonesian carrier Lion Air, until now a Boeing only operator, which had placed Boeing's largest commercial airplane order, at the time. The carrier currently operates a fleet of Boeing 737s dominated by 737-900ERs in an all economy 213 seat configuration. Lion Air will configure its A320 family in an all economy layout, with its A320's seating 180 passengers and its A321's seating 236.

Incorporating new engines and large Sharklet wing tip devices, the A320neo will enter into service from late 2015, followed by the A319neo and A321neo in 2016.

Below is a video of the thank you extended by Airbus employees to Lion Air.

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Farnborough Orders on Day 2

Once again, this is courtesy of Aspire Aviation.

Airbus

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Arkia Israel Airlines	4	A321neo	Agreement
10th July	Cathay Pacific	10	A350-1000	Agreement; convert 16 existing -900 into -1000
10th July	Drukair	1	A319	Firm

Boeing

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Air Lease Corp (ALC)	60	737 MAX 8	Firm; Reconfirmation rights for 25 more
9th July	Air Lease Corp (ALC)	15	737 MAX 9
10th July	GECAS	75	737 MAX 8	Agreement
10th July	GECAS	25	737-800	Agreement
10th July	ALAFCO	20	737 MAX 8	Agreement

Bombardier

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
10th July	Air Baltic	10	CS300	LOI; purchase rights for 10 more

Pratt & Whitney

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	IndiGo	300	PW1100G-JM	Firm
9th July	CIT	60	PW1100G-JM	Firm
9th July	Cebu Pacific	60	PW1100G-JM	Firm
9th July	Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS)	100	PW1100G-JM	MoU

CFM

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Air Lease Corp (ALC)	150	CFM Leap-1B
10th July	GECAS	150	CFM Leap-1B	Agreement
10th July	GECAS	50	CFM56-7BE	Agreement
10th July	ALAFCO	40	CFM Leap-1B	Agreement

Embraer

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Hebei Airlines	5	E-190s	Booked in Q2 backlog

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Farnborough Orders on Day One

Courtesy of Aspire Aviation, the following table provides a breakdown of announced orders on Day 1 of the Farnborough Air Show.

Airbus

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Arkia Israel Airlines	4	A321neo	Agreement

Boeing

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Air Lease Corp (ALC)	60	737 MAX 8	Reconfirmation rights for 25 more
9th July	Air Lease Corp (ALC)	15	737 MAX 9

Pratt & Whitney

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	IndiGo	300	PW1100G-JM
9th July	CIT	60	PW1100G-JM
9th July	Cebu Pacific	60	PW1100G-JM	For 30 firm A321neos
9th July	Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS)	100	PW1100G-JM	MoU

CFM

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Air Lease Corp (ALC)	150	CFM Leap-1B

Embraer

Date	Customer	Quantity	Model	Remarks
9th July	Hebei Airlines	5	E-190s	Booked in Q2 backlog

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American Airlines announces largest aircraft order in aviation history. Tops IndiGo and AirAsia

AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR), the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, today announced the largest order in aviation history of 460 narrow-body single aisle jet aircraft with another 465 on option. This tops the recent record setting orders of 180 Airbus A320 family aircraft by India's IndiGo, and 200 A320neo aircraft by Malaysia's AirAsia. The deliveries will commence in 2013 and run through 2022.


The carrier has firm plans to acquire 260 A320 family aircraft from Airbus and 200 737 family aircraft from Boeing. The carrier has options with Boeing for another 100 737 family aircraft and with Airbus for an additional 365 A320 family aircraft. The new aircraft will see American to transition four Boeing fleet types (MD-80, 737-800, 757 and 767-200) to two (the 737 and the A320 families) which are also expected to offer significant commonality benefits within each family.

American has broken its long time exclusive loyalty to US airframer Boeing by giving a larger part of its order to their arch-rival, Europe's Airbus S.A.S. A major reason for this decision is the availability of the highly fuel efficient neo (new engine option) version of the A320. This order is a wake-up call for Boeing which has finally shaken off its complacency and appears to have finally ended the speculation, at least for now, of whether to re-engine the venerable 737 or develop a new aircraft.


The contract with Airbus is for 130 each of the "classic" and neo (new engine option) versions of the A320 family aircraft i.e. A319s, A320s and A321s. All 260 aircraft will feature the new blended fuel-saving wingtip devices known as Sharklets. The airline will commence taking the classic versions by 2013 and the neo versions by 2017. The contract provides full flexibility to American allowing it to choose aircraft types. The A321neo is seen as a fuel efficient next generation replacement for the carrier's ageing workhorse, the Boeing 757 fleet and can be expected in large numbers.

Under the agreement with Boeing, American plans to acquire a total of 200 aircraft from the 737 family in addition to its existing orders. 100 additional current 737NG family with flexibility to choose between the 737-700, 737-800, or 737-900ER. American also intends to order 100 of Boeing's expected re-engined evolution of the 737NG which as per FlightBlogger Jon Ostrower is expected to be formally launched in the fourth quarter of this year.

American also will benefit from approximately $13 billion of committed financing provided by the manufacturers through lease transactions that will help maximize balance sheet flexibility and reduce risk. The financing fully covers the first 230 deliveries.

The carrier has selected CFM International's LEAP-X engines for both Boeing and Airbus aircraft families.

The 737 and A320 families offer significant cost reduction opportunities in replacing American's older fleet, the new aircraft are expected to offer a 35% reduction in fuel cost per seat versus the MD-80, 12% versus the 757 and 15% 767-200.

In 2009 and 2010, American took delivery of 76 Boeing 737-800s equipped with the new Sky Interior and has another 54 aircraft which will enter their fleet between 2011 and 2013 in addition to this order. American also has firm orders with Boeing for eight 777-300ERs due for delivery in 2012~2013, 42 787 Dreamliners to be delivered starting late 2014, and seven 777-200s scheduled for delivery in 2013~2016.

Meeting the ordered and expected demand
With the A320neo order book now at 1000+ aircraft, the early adopters will monopolise production slots. IAG's Addison Schonland has written a great analysis on the impact on fleet planners at American's major competitors like United, Delta, and Southwest. He also opines that Airbus may convert the planned A330 tanker assembly line in Alabama, USA to an A320 line to reach the required production volumes.

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ILFC's big bang order for Airbus A320neo, A321neo, and Boeing 737, a big boost for PW1100G GTF

For the last few years, thanks to the well known financial problems at its parent AIG, the world's largest aircraft lessor by value, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), was on the quiet.

Yesterday, ILFC announced its comeback with two big orders. One with Airbus S.A.S. for 75 A320neo and the first orders for the A321neo for 25 aircraft. From the 100 aircraft, 60 are firm commitments and 40 are on option. ILFC also signed a firm agreement with Boeing to purchase 33 737-800s worth about $2.6 billion at list prices, though discounts can range up to 50%.

In the NEO orders, ILFC also announced an eye-popping boost for the Pratt and Whitney Geared Turbo Fan (GTF) program, when it announced a confirmed agreement for 120 firm PurePower PW1100G engines to power the 60 confirmed NEO's and an option for up to 80 more engines for the 40 optioned A320neo family aircraft.

This is the first order for the NEO with a confirmed engine choice. Earlier orders from IndiGo, Virgin America, and TAM, were announced without an engine choice.

In addition to the PW1100G, customers have the choice of CFM's LeapP-X engine to power the A320neo family.

Also as expected and long overdue, ILFC announced it was cancelling its order for ten A380 superjumbos in an effort to rebalance it order books. Henri Courpron, ILFC Chief Executive Officer said

"With 104 wide bodies on order and fewer than a dozen single aisles it makes perfect sense to rebalance our order book and position ILFC strategically on the fuel-efficient neo,”

A321neo can replace the Boeing 757
The A321neo is expected to be an ideal replacement for the venerable but ageing, Boeing 757-200 used by many US carriers for trans-continental and trans-Atlantic flights.

Boeing does have the 737-900ER which has a similar seating capacity, but this aircraft has not appealed to airlines. Only about 75 737-900ERs operate compared to 613 A321-200s.

AirInsight has produced a great study on this option. The accompanying PDF report can be downloaded here.

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