PARIS -- American Airlines is buying 50 new long-range planes from Airbus, giving a big boost to the just-launched A321XLR model.
Airbus and American Airlines -- the world's largest carrier -- announced the deal Wednesday at the Paris Air Show, upgrading a previous order for A321neo jets to the A321XLR. No price tag was put on the contract, but it is likely worth billions of dollars.
Airbus launched the A321XLR program on Monday. The plane is a long-range version of its popular single-aisle A320 range, and the company has already signed several customers for the yet-to-be-built plane.
American Airlines is looking to replace its aging fleet of Boeing 757 jets, and the order for the A321XLR heightens pressure on Boeing.
Boeing is studying a new jet dubbed New Midsize Airplane that would be a similar size to the A321XLR. The American Airlines deal with Airbus could give Boeing more incentive to push ahead with the platform.
Boeing came into the air show under a cloud of uncertainty as its 737 Max has been grounded worldwide for three months after new flight software played a role in two deadly plane crashes. There is no clear date for when the Max might fly again.
The company got a boost on Tuesday, however, when International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and other carriers, signed a letter of intent for 200 Boeing 737 aircraft. The deal is subject to final agreement but is a vote of confidence in Boeing as it struggles to win back trust from airlines, pilots, regulators and the traveling public.
Airbus has landed a string of orders at the show, including sales of the new A321XLR to Australia's Qantas, Saudi Arabian Airlines, the Philippines' Cebu Pacific and Arizona-based low-cost airline investor Indigo Partners LLC.
Indigo Partners tied American Airlines for the biggest order of the planes.
While 74 of the XLRs ordered are upgrades of existing commitments, the totals are still impressive: a net 132 planes valued at $18.7 billion before customary discounts. Airbus is getting an additional $1.76 billion boost from upgrades to the XLR from other A320-family models.
Overall, Airbus has racked up $43.6 billion in commitments at the show, while Boeing lags at $36 billion.
Bill Franke's Indigo will parcel out the XLRs it ordered to three airlines in its stable of discounters: Budapest-based Wizz Air Holdings PLC, Chile's JetSmart and Frontier Airlines of the U.S., which aims to fly them coast to coast and could add Hawaii and Alaska.
Separately, Boeing landed a commitment from Qatar Airways for five 777 freighters while China Airlines will take as many as six. Turkmenistan Airlines said it intended to buy a 777-200LR.
A slowing economy tempered the mood at the air show, one of the aviation industry's biggest events, but both Airbus and Boeing brought in more orders than expected.
After several years of surging growth, passenger traffic in March grew at the weakest rate in nine years, although April was slightly better. The International Air Transport Association, a global airline trade group, blames a slowing global economy and damage from tariffs and trade fights.
Plane-makers are also under growing pressure from regulators and passengers to reduce carbon emissions. They are looking at hybrid, electric or hydrogen technology to eventually replace existing fuel.
Information for this article was contributed by Angela Charlton of The Associated Press and by Julie Johnsson, Benjamin Katz, Richard Weiss, Angus Whitley, Anurag Kotoky and Mary Schlangenstein of Bloomberg News.
Business on 06/20/2019