newswatcher
27th June 2002, 07:58
From the UAE Khaleej Times:
"AIRBUS said in Dubai that it had made a clean sweep of all the large airliner orders placed in the Middle East in the first half this year, reinforcing its three-year track record of winning about 70 per cent of all new aircraft orders in the region.
A senior Airbus official claimed on Tuesday that the European aircraft manufacturer was able to bag all the 15 new aircraft orders, including some on lease, placed by the region's leading carriers so far this year. "This year, Emirates has ordered two more A330-200s; Qatar Airways has ordered an A320 and an A330-200, MEA has decided to acquire six A321 5 and lease three A330-200s, and Royal Jordanian Airlines has signed a lease for two Airbus A340-200s," said David Velupillai, regional manager Press relations of Airbus.
Allaying doubts about the commercial viability of the double deck superjumbo A380, Velupillai said the 555-seat aircraft will be answer to overcrowding, a major problem facing all the major airports in future when global air traffic is predicted to grow two-fold by 2015 and three-fold by 2023. Having won almost 100 orders from leading airlines, the first delivery of the A380 is expected by 2006. Emirates, the first to select the A380, now accounts for more than one-fifth of the orders, he pointed out.
Velupillai said Airbus has been impacted by September 11, but not on such a big scale as in the case of its main rival which has to scale back production by almost half this year and resort to massive layoffs. "Our production is to drop this year to 300 aircraft from 325 last year," he said. Jointly woned by EADs (80 per cent) and BAE Systems (20 per cent), Airbus last years posted a turnover of 20.5 billion Euro. "With Emirates - the largest Airbus customer in the region - hinting that it may require more aircraft to cope with its impressive growth, we hope to win more new orders," he said. "The UAE national carrier has ordered more A380s and A330s than anyone else in the world, and is also on track to take delivery of aircraft from our A340-500/600 family." Emirates currently flies 22 A330-200s on routes to Europe, Asia, and within the Middle East. It has also ordered 22 A380s and six the ultra-long range A340-500s, and has announced plans to acquire eight A340-600s.
Velupillai said the Middle East, where Airbus has been present since the 1970s, is an important market with its aircraft family forming the cornerstone of most airline fleets. "We seek to sustain our position in the Middle East aviation sector, which is expected to acquire some 620 airliners, worth about $50 billion, up to the year 2018."
He said he was hopeful of making a new foray into the Saudi market by winning orders for the A380, the super jumbo expected to make its debut in a couple of years. "Saudia was the launch customer for the A300-600, which it began receiving in 1984 and, in 1983, Kuwait Airways was the first in the region with the A310. Royal Jordanian was the first in the Middle East to order the A320, in 1986. In 1991, as part of a fleet rebuilding and modernisation, Kuwait Airways became the first Middle East airline to order the A340, which Gulf Air became the first to operate in 1994. Today, some 200 Airbus aircraft have been ordered byairlines in the region."
Velupillai claimed that Airbus' A330/A340 family has won the most customers and orders in the 250-375 seat class. "One of the key advantages of Airbus aircraft is their cockpit commonality - the A330200, A340-500/600 and A380 all share the same basic cockpit," he explained."
"AIRBUS said in Dubai that it had made a clean sweep of all the large airliner orders placed in the Middle East in the first half this year, reinforcing its three-year track record of winning about 70 per cent of all new aircraft orders in the region.
A senior Airbus official claimed on Tuesday that the European aircraft manufacturer was able to bag all the 15 new aircraft orders, including some on lease, placed by the region's leading carriers so far this year. "This year, Emirates has ordered two more A330-200s; Qatar Airways has ordered an A320 and an A330-200, MEA has decided to acquire six A321 5 and lease three A330-200s, and Royal Jordanian Airlines has signed a lease for two Airbus A340-200s," said David Velupillai, regional manager Press relations of Airbus.
Allaying doubts about the commercial viability of the double deck superjumbo A380, Velupillai said the 555-seat aircraft will be answer to overcrowding, a major problem facing all the major airports in future when global air traffic is predicted to grow two-fold by 2015 and three-fold by 2023. Having won almost 100 orders from leading airlines, the first delivery of the A380 is expected by 2006. Emirates, the first to select the A380, now accounts for more than one-fifth of the orders, he pointed out.
Velupillai said Airbus has been impacted by September 11, but not on such a big scale as in the case of its main rival which has to scale back production by almost half this year and resort to massive layoffs. "Our production is to drop this year to 300 aircraft from 325 last year," he said. Jointly woned by EADs (80 per cent) and BAE Systems (20 per cent), Airbus last years posted a turnover of 20.5 billion Euro. "With Emirates - the largest Airbus customer in the region - hinting that it may require more aircraft to cope with its impressive growth, we hope to win more new orders," he said. "The UAE national carrier has ordered more A380s and A330s than anyone else in the world, and is also on track to take delivery of aircraft from our A340-500/600 family." Emirates currently flies 22 A330-200s on routes to Europe, Asia, and within the Middle East. It has also ordered 22 A380s and six the ultra-long range A340-500s, and has announced plans to acquire eight A340-600s.
Velupillai said the Middle East, where Airbus has been present since the 1970s, is an important market with its aircraft family forming the cornerstone of most airline fleets. "We seek to sustain our position in the Middle East aviation sector, which is expected to acquire some 620 airliners, worth about $50 billion, up to the year 2018."
He said he was hopeful of making a new foray into the Saudi market by winning orders for the A380, the super jumbo expected to make its debut in a couple of years. "Saudia was the launch customer for the A300-600, which it began receiving in 1984 and, in 1983, Kuwait Airways was the first in the region with the A310. Royal Jordanian was the first in the Middle East to order the A320, in 1986. In 1991, as part of a fleet rebuilding and modernisation, Kuwait Airways became the first Middle East airline to order the A340, which Gulf Air became the first to operate in 1994. Today, some 200 Airbus aircraft have been ordered byairlines in the region."
Velupillai claimed that Airbus' A330/A340 family has won the most customers and orders in the 250-375 seat class. "One of the key advantages of Airbus aircraft is their cockpit commonality - the A330200, A340-500/600 and A380 all share the same basic cockpit," he explained."