Industry FIA 2018: All orders from day 1

The first day of the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2018 has seen announcements of orders for 472 aircraft worth nearly $50 billion at list prices in total.

The increasing need for aircraft to serve markets around the world reflects in airlines, that are eager to buy. While Airbus and Boeing dominated the orders for today, Embraer could also determine a purchase agreement.

Airbus was able to confirm orders or commitments for 228 aircraft. Sichuan Airlines ordered 10 Airbus A350-900 XWB right at the start of the Airshow. Thereafter Vistara confirmed, that it will add 50 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft to its fleet. After that, Airbus and Taiwanese Start-Up airline Starlux Airlines confirmed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 12 Airbus A350-1000 and five A350-900.

Following the surprising Starlux-order, Kuwait´s Wataniya Airways said that it will add 25 A320neo aircraft to its all-Airbus aircraft fleet. Goshawk Aviation Limited followed Watainya´s footsteps and announced an order for 20 A320neo aircraft.

The biggest order today saw Airbus confirming, that an Undisclosed lessor has committed to buy 80 A320neo Family aircraft. This order alone is worth $8.5 billion at current list prices. To round the successful day, Macquarie AirFinance ordered 20 Airbus A320neo and SalamAir six A320neo.

Boeing on the other hand had a pretty successful day as well. Eight customers ordered a total of 198 aircraft. Especially the MAX Family enjoyed new incoming orders. Even before the Airshow started, Boeing and DHL Express announced the firm order for 14 777 Freighters with options to buy seven more.

After that, leasing company Jackson Square Aviation ordered 30 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Thereafter, Qatar Airways confirmed a previously made order for five additional 777 Freighters, while United Airlines said that it will add four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to its fleet. Romanian flag carrier TAROM then announced an order for five Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes. The new aircraft will see aging Boeing B737-300s and B737-700s being phased out over the coming years.

GOL, a leading Brazilian carrier then announced, that it will convert its MAX 8 order for 30 aircraft to MAX 10 aircraft. Moreover, the carrier aims to add 15 MAX 8s to its buying list. Last but not least, Jet Airways brought Boeing its biggest order for this Airshow so far. The Indian carrier announced an order for additional 75 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The order is valued at $8.8 billion at list prices.

Helicopter manufacturer Leonardo was able to confirm a firm order for 17 AW139 helicopters by Milestone Aviation Group Limited. The helicopter leasing firm will lease the aircraft to Aramco Overseas Company. The company has options to order four additional AW139s.

Embraer and United Airlines then signed a contract for 25 Embraer E175 regional jets. The contract has a value of $1.1 billion based on current list prices, with deliveries set to begin in the second quarter of 2019.