Airbus Sold 730 Aircraft at the Paris Air Show, Boeing 142 Aircraft - Did Airbus Really Win?

Airbus Sold 730 Aircraft at the Paris Air Show, Boeing 142 Aircraft - Did Airbus Really Win?

The competition for aircraft orders, commitments, and sales at the Paris Air Show in 2011 seemed to be spectacular. Boeing sold 142 aircraft worth some $22 Billion, and Airbus did extremely well, blowing the doors off "some" of the analysts' predictions, but not all. Boeing seems to be in a transitional year, and is booked with so many previous orders that it is working through its backlog and building factories, thus, stated that it really wasn't going all out this year to compete with Airbus at the Paris Air Show, even predicting at one-point that Airbus should be able to sell 1,000 or more aircraft this year, which they did not.

In other words, Airbus left a lot on the table, meaning there are still many buyers out there and not enough planes being made, something that Embraer, Comac, Sukhoi, and Bombardier hope will continue as they widen the door to break into the larger and more lucrative airliner business models. Also realize, that this is good news for Boeing, since it means more sales are still available. There was a very telling article in the Seattle Times on June 24, 2011 titled; "Boeing Didn't 'Lose' in Paris, Analysts Say" - the article stated that;

"Despite Airbus' flood of orders for its re-engineered A320neo, Boeing didn't lose at the Paris Air Show, but it is one data point in a long-term competition. Boeing wasn't actually playing. That's because Boeing has yet to announce whether it will outfit its 737 with new engines or launch a replacement program. The NEO is now the fastest-selling airplane in the history of civil aviation and we don't think it's constructive to overlook this fact."

Okay so, yes, the Airbus 320-NEO sales have broken some speed records for new aircraft sales in a short amount of time right, but the A-320neo's competition is the Boeing 737 which has the all-time record for the most sales of any commercial airliner in human history. In 2009 there were 6,000 plus Boeing 737 aircraft which had been sold and at that time a back-order of 2,000 aircraft. So, yes, it is impressive that Airbus acquired commitments for so many Airbus A-320neo's at the Paris Air Show.

However those commitments, and those which were "actually" ordered still must be built and delivered, and Airbus will be hard-pressed to get that done, just as Boeing is having challenges with its back-orders and cannot build Boeing 737s fast enough, right now at approximately 42-per month. It is not as if Airbus will not be equally challenged if not to a greater degree attempting to fill all those orders and/or commitments.

Further, commitments are not orders and if Airbus falters or cannot keep up with demand then those customers will migrate towards Boeing's competing 737 aircraft. Additionally, Airbus, is competing on price, low-financing rates, and promises of 30% greater fuel economy, which are all lofty promises considering the rise in commodity costs on various components, labor challenges in the EU, and rising interest rates due to global inflation, which will affect the airline buyers.

Still, no one can be absolutely sure that the A-320neo will indeed be as efficient as promised, which means Boeing could make small modifications, or large ones and make up that difference, and those commitments will migrate and those orders could disappear when Airbus cannot deliver on-time, which is common in this industry due to so many factors and issues. Please consider all this.