<p>Well, it didn’t rain, neither in the precipitation sense, nor new firm orders of which there were just 130. That figure, however, hides a multitude of developments, ramifications and, dare one say, intrigue.</p>
<p>It doesn’t, for example, tell the story of 99 conversions of firm orders for the A321neo to the A321XLR, which was officially launched at the show to very little surprise. With a new model on the table, firm orders for 48 A321XLRs plus commitments for a further 79 also didn’t raise eyebrows too much either.</p>
<p>The real wide-eyed response came when IAG announced a Letter of Intent for 200 aircraft from the currently beleaguered Boeing 737 MAX family, which almost no-one saw coming. With the global 737 MAX fleet still grounded, Boeing was delighted to receive such a fillip, especially from an airline group whose single-aisle fleet is almost all-Airbus. Observers were quick to hypothesise on the level of discount that IAG had received in order to make such a public commitment at this time.</p>
<p>IAG plans to allocate the new aircraft – a mix of 737 MAX 8s and MAX 10s – primarily to LEVEL and Vueling, with some being placed into the British Airways operation at London Gatwick airport.</p>
<p>IAG CEO Willie Walsh was quoted as saying that the 737 MAX move is part of diversifying the group’s future fleet “to spur competition”. That was underlined by the group’s order for 14 A321XLRs, eight for Iberia and six for Aer Lingus, with 14 options equally split between the two carriers. These aircraft will be used to expand the long-haul fleets of both airlines and will feature business class cabins including full flat seats. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2023.</p>
<p>With the low seat-mile cost of the A321XLR, Indigo Partners invested in a total of 50 with 32 new orders and 18 orders being switched from orders for other A320neo family models. Of Indigo’s airlines, Frontier Airlines will take 18 of the new type, Wizz Air 20 and JetSmart 12.</p>
<p>JetBlue Airways, which has already announced plans for transatlantic services with A321LR aircraft, decided to convert 13 of its existing Airbus A321neo order book to the A321XLR version. These are set to be delivered from 2023 onwards.</p>
<p>Another low-fare giant, AirAsia, decided to swap some of its orders, switching 253 of its A320neo orders to A321neos. Also in the Asia low-cost market, Cebu Pacific Air committed to 10 new A321XLRs, five new A320neos and 16 A330-900neos with options for 10 A321neos.</p>
<p>The Middle East was also fertile ground for the A321XLR, with Flynas, Middle East Airlines (MEA) and Saudia all signing up for the new model. Flynas committed to 10, MEA did a swap of other orders for four, while Saudia placed a firm order for 15. The Saudi Arabian national carrier also ordered 15 A320neos and took options on a further 35 A320neo family aircraft.</p>
<p>Other full service carriers choosing the A321XLR included American Airlines and Qantas. The former placed a new order for 20 and swapped 30 other orders, while the latter signed a new order for 10 and swapped 26.</p>
<p>Away from the new model in the single-aisle ‘workhorse’ category, Faroe Islands-based Atlantic Airways signed up for two A320neos. Meanwhile China Airlines ordered 11 A321neos as well six Boeing 777Fs for its freight operation.</p>
<p>Other widebody orders came from Virgin Atlantic for eight A330-900neo with six options and Turkmenistan Airlines for one Boeing 777-200LR.</p>
<p><strong>Return of a legend</strong></p>
<p>For the first time in many years the De Havilland brand was on display at an air show. De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, which now owns the former Bombardier Q400 programme, was present alongside its sister Longview company Viking Air.</p>
<p>The latter was able to announce an order from Air Antilles for two Twin Otter 400 Series aircraft while De Havilland unveiled a previously unidentified customer in TAAG Angola Airlines which has ordered six Q400s (now renamed the Dash 8-400).</p>
<p>While the takeover will maintain most of the jobs attached to the former Bombardier turboprop programme, the task that De Havilland faces in the turboprop arena was emphasised by ATR announcing 75 orders and commitments including launch orders for the ATR 42-600S, the STOL version of the smaller family member.</p>
<p>ATR’s total owed much to Nordic Aviation Capital signing a Letter of Intent for 35 firm ATR -600 Series aircraft with options for a further 35 and purchase rights for another 35. In each case the split is 20 ATR 42-600s and 15 72-600s.</p>
<p>The launch customers for the ATR 42-600S were Elix Aviation Capital (which signed a Letter of Intent for an order of 10 aircraft) and Air Tahiti which confirmed an order for two ATR 42-600S aircraft. The new model has been enhanced to reduce the required take-off and landing distances from 1,050 metres to 800 metres.</p>
<p>The ATR orderbook was also swelled by orders from two undisclosed customers, one for five ATR 42-600s, the other for 22 ATR 72-600s, plus a firm order from Easyfly for one additional ATR 42-600.</p>
<p><strong>A fond farewell?</strong></p>
<p>With its 50th anniversary coming up in August, Embraer began celebrations early with a round of orders and commitments for both its first generation E-Jets and the E-Jet E2 family. Depending on when Embraer’s deal with Boeing is completed by the Dubai Air Show in November, these orders could be the last to be announced under the Embraer name at a major air show.</p>
<p>However, there was plenty of cheer still to be had for Embraer Commercial Aviation as KLM announced its intention to purchase up to 35 E195-E2s with 15 being firm orders along with 20 purchase rights. The deal for the aircraft which will be flown by KLM Cityhopper – Europe’s largest E-Jet operator – still requires a full purchase Agreement. Also buying E195-E2s was Binter Canarias which placed a firm order for two more of the type.</p>
<p>First generation E-Jet sales saw United Airlines sign a contract for 20 firm E175s with 19 options. The aircraft will have a 70-seat configuration and deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2020. These E175s will replace older 70-seat aircraft currently operating under the United Express banner. No regional airline partner has yet been named as the designated operator.</p>
<p>Another returning E1 customer was Fuji Dream Airlines, which placed a firm order for two E175s.</p>
<p>Still in the smaller narrowbody arena, Airbus continued to add traction to the A220 programme, which it took over from Bombardier just over a year ago. Delta Air Lines, whose original order with the Canadian OEM for 75 aircraft caused such a ruckus, placed a firm order for five more A220-100s. The airline now has firm orders for 45 A220-100s and 50 A220-300s.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as the business days came to a close in Paris – and after Airbus had done its round-up press conference – JetBlue Airways exercised options on 10 A220-300s to make them into firm orders, taking its total number of A220s on order to 70.</p>
<p><strong>When lessor is more</strong></p>
<p>Not content with its raft of orders for ATRs mentioned above, Nordic Aviation Capital also announced a deal for 20 Airbus A220s. This is the first order from the lessor for this type, although NAC chairman Martin Møller has openly discussed potential acquisitions through sale and leaseback deals.</p>
<p>When discussing lessors deals at airshows, Air Lease Corporation is inevitably involved in some deals and this Salon du Bourget was no exception. The company was another customer for the A321XLR with orders for 27, with another 23 A312neos taking its deal with Airbus at the show to 50 aircraft. The lessor also ordered another five Boeing 787-9s.</p>
<p>Airbus also revealed that the previously unidentified customer for a firm order of 20 A320neos was Accipiter Holdings.</p>
<p><strong>‘Space’ in the market</strong></p>
<p>Having announced the rebranding of its MRJ programme as the SpaceJet just before the show, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation did announce that a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed with a North American customer “to commence formal negotiations” for 15 SpaceJet M100 aircraft, with deliveries beginning in 2024.</p>
<p>The SpaceJet M100 is the redesigned and slightly stretched update of the MRJ70, which has been revamped with the US market specifically in mind, getting more out of the aircraft than the MRJ70 while remaining scope clause-compliant. The M90 (formerly MRJ90) will be the first member of the SpaceJet family to enter service in 2020 with All Nippon Airlines.</p>
<p>The good news for flight crew and maintenance personnel is that all these aircraft will need to be flown and maintained. The tricky part then comes in attracting and financing the candidates who will fulfil those roles.</p>
<p><em>[All figures taken from airline/manufacturer statements and/or the FlightGlobal Paris air show 2019 order tracker: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-paris-air-show-2019-order-tracker-459019/]</em></p>
<p>It doesn’t, for example, tell the story of 99 conversions of firm orders for the A321neo to the A321XLR, which was officially launched at the show to very little surprise. With a new model on the table, firm orders for 48 A321XLRs plus commitments for a further 79 also didn’t raise eyebrows too much either.</p>
<p>The real wide-eyed response came when IAG announced a Letter of Intent for 200 aircraft from the currently beleaguered Boeing 737 MAX family, which almost no-one saw coming. With the global 737 MAX fleet still grounded, Boeing was delighted to receive such a fillip, especially from an airline group whose single-aisle fleet is almost all-Airbus. Observers were quick to hypothesise on the level of discount that IAG had received in order to make such a public commitment at this time.</p>
<p>IAG plans to allocate the new aircraft – a mix of 737 MAX 8s and MAX 10s – primarily to LEVEL and Vueling, with some being placed into the British Airways operation at London Gatwick airport.</p>
<p>IAG CEO Willie Walsh was quoted as saying that the 737 MAX move is part of diversifying the group’s future fleet “to spur competition”. That was underlined by the group’s order for 14 A321XLRs, eight for Iberia and six for Aer Lingus, with 14 options equally split between the two carriers. These aircraft will be used to expand the long-haul fleets of both airlines and will feature business class cabins including full flat seats. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2023.</p>
<p>With the low seat-mile cost of the A321XLR, Indigo Partners invested in a total of 50 with 32 new orders and 18 orders being switched from orders for other A320neo family models. Of Indigo’s airlines, Frontier Airlines will take 18 of the new type, Wizz Air 20 and JetSmart 12.</p>
<p>JetBlue Airways, which has already announced plans for transatlantic services with A321LR aircraft, decided to convert 13 of its existing Airbus A321neo order book to the A321XLR version. These are set to be delivered from 2023 onwards.</p>
<p>Another low-fare giant, AirAsia, decided to swap some of its orders, switching 253 of its A320neo orders to A321neos. Also in the Asia low-cost market, Cebu Pacific Air committed to 10 new A321XLRs, five new A320neos and 16 A330-900neos with options for 10 A321neos.</p>
<p>The Middle East was also fertile ground for the A321XLR, with Flynas, Middle East Airlines (MEA) and Saudia all signing up for the new model. Flynas committed to 10, MEA did a swap of other orders for four, while Saudia placed a firm order for 15. The Saudi Arabian national carrier also ordered 15 A320neos and took options on a further 35 A320neo family aircraft.</p>
<p>Other full service carriers choosing the A321XLR included American Airlines and Qantas. The former placed a new order for 20 and swapped 30 other orders, while the latter signed a new order for 10 and swapped 26.</p>
<p>Away from the new model in the single-aisle ‘workhorse’ category, Faroe Islands-based Atlantic Airways signed up for two A320neos. Meanwhile China Airlines ordered 11 A321neos as well six Boeing 777Fs for its freight operation.</p>
<p>Other widebody orders came from Virgin Atlantic for eight A330-900neo with six options and Turkmenistan Airlines for one Boeing 777-200LR.</p>
<p><strong>Return of a legend</strong></p>
<p>For the first time in many years the De Havilland brand was on display at an air show. De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, which now owns the former Bombardier Q400 programme, was present alongside its sister Longview company Viking Air.</p>
<p>The latter was able to announce an order from Air Antilles for two Twin Otter 400 Series aircraft while De Havilland unveiled a previously unidentified customer in TAAG Angola Airlines which has ordered six Q400s (now renamed the Dash 8-400).</p>
<p>While the takeover will maintain most of the jobs attached to the former Bombardier turboprop programme, the task that De Havilland faces in the turboprop arena was emphasised by ATR announcing 75 orders and commitments including launch orders for the ATR 42-600S, the STOL version of the smaller family member.</p>
<p>ATR’s total owed much to Nordic Aviation Capital signing a Letter of Intent for 35 firm ATR -600 Series aircraft with options for a further 35 and purchase rights for another 35. In each case the split is 20 ATR 42-600s and 15 72-600s.</p>
<p>The launch customers for the ATR 42-600S were Elix Aviation Capital (which signed a Letter of Intent for an order of 10 aircraft) and Air Tahiti which confirmed an order for two ATR 42-600S aircraft. The new model has been enhanced to reduce the required take-off and landing distances from 1,050 metres to 800 metres.</p>
<p>The ATR orderbook was also swelled by orders from two undisclosed customers, one for five ATR 42-600s, the other for 22 ATR 72-600s, plus a firm order from Easyfly for one additional ATR 42-600.</p>
<p><strong>A fond farewell?</strong></p>
<p>With its 50th anniversary coming up in August, Embraer began celebrations early with a round of orders and commitments for both its first generation E-Jets and the E-Jet E2 family. Depending on when Embraer’s deal with Boeing is completed by the Dubai Air Show in November, these orders could be the last to be announced under the Embraer name at a major air show.</p>
<p>However, there was plenty of cheer still to be had for Embraer Commercial Aviation as KLM announced its intention to purchase up to 35 E195-E2s with 15 being firm orders along with 20 purchase rights. The deal for the aircraft which will be flown by KLM Cityhopper – Europe’s largest E-Jet operator – still requires a full purchase Agreement. Also buying E195-E2s was Binter Canarias which placed a firm order for two more of the type.</p>
<p>First generation E-Jet sales saw United Airlines sign a contract for 20 firm E175s with 19 options. The aircraft will have a 70-seat configuration and deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2020. These E175s will replace older 70-seat aircraft currently operating under the United Express banner. No regional airline partner has yet been named as the designated operator.</p>
<p>Another returning E1 customer was Fuji Dream Airlines, which placed a firm order for two E175s.</p>
<p>Still in the smaller narrowbody arena, Airbus continued to add traction to the A220 programme, which it took over from Bombardier just over a year ago. Delta Air Lines, whose original order with the Canadian OEM for 75 aircraft caused such a ruckus, placed a firm order for five more A220-100s. The airline now has firm orders for 45 A220-100s and 50 A220-300s.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as the business days came to a close in Paris – and after Airbus had done its round-up press conference – JetBlue Airways exercised options on 10 A220-300s to make them into firm orders, taking its total number of A220s on order to 70.</p>
<p><strong>When lessor is more</strong></p>
<p>Not content with its raft of orders for ATRs mentioned above, Nordic Aviation Capital also announced a deal for 20 Airbus A220s. This is the first order from the lessor for this type, although NAC chairman Martin Møller has openly discussed potential acquisitions through sale and leaseback deals.</p>
<p>When discussing lessors deals at airshows, Air Lease Corporation is inevitably involved in some deals and this Salon du Bourget was no exception. The company was another customer for the A321XLR with orders for 27, with another 23 A312neos taking its deal with Airbus at the show to 50 aircraft. The lessor also ordered another five Boeing 787-9s.</p>
<p>Airbus also revealed that the previously unidentified customer for a firm order of 20 A320neos was Accipiter Holdings.</p>
<p><strong>‘Space’ in the market</strong></p>
<p>Having announced the rebranding of its MRJ programme as the SpaceJet just before the show, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation did announce that a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed with a North American customer “to commence formal negotiations” for 15 SpaceJet M100 aircraft, with deliveries beginning in 2024.</p>
<p>The SpaceJet M100 is the redesigned and slightly stretched update of the MRJ70, which has been revamped with the US market specifically in mind, getting more out of the aircraft than the MRJ70 while remaining scope clause-compliant. The M90 (formerly MRJ90) will be the first member of the SpaceJet family to enter service in 2020 with All Nippon Airlines.</p>
<p>The good news for flight crew and maintenance personnel is that all these aircraft will need to be flown and maintained. The tricky part then comes in attracting and financing the candidates who will fulfil those roles.</p>
<p><em>[All figures taken from airline/manufacturer statements and/or the FlightGlobal Paris air show 2019 order tracker: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-paris-air-show-2019-order-tracker-459019/]</em></p>