Boeing under pressure as Airbus tops 500 orders for its upgraded aircraft

AIRBUS SAS reached a goal of topping 500 orders for its upgraded A320neo aircraft by the end of the Paris Air Show on the second day of the event as carriers put pressure on Boeing Co to respond with an all-new airliner.

US leasing firm CIT Group signed an outline order for 50 single-aisle neos worth $4.6 billion (€3.15bn) at list price, propelling the model to Airbus’s pre-show target, and a 10-plane deal from PT Garuda Indonesia gave the re-engined jet a first contract from a client until now loyal to Boeing Co’s rival 737.

JetBlue Airways Corp of the US bought 40 A320 neos, while Boeing won 15 737 orders from Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA plus 10 from Malaysian Airline System Bhd that were already on its books.

Contrasting success in the single-aisle market, the biggest in the civil airframe business, underscores Airbus’s breakthrough in peddling the re-engined A320 as a more fuel-efficient version of its bestseller as Boeing ponders its next move. The US company should skip an engine upgrade and build a new jet, clients said including industry doyen Steven Udvar-Hazy’s Air Lease Corp.

“I’m not talking to too many airlines, in fact none, zero, that think a re-engine is the way to go for Boeing,” John Plueger, the co-founder and business partner of Udvar-Hazy at Air Lease.

General Electric Co’s air-leasing unit and SAS AB of Sweden ordered a total of 90 A320neos from Toulouse, France-based Airbus on the first day of the Paris Show, while Boeing didn’t secure any firm orders for the 737, other than a two-plane deal from Mongolian Airlines announced in Washington.

The neo has become Airbus’s fastest-selling aircraft since it was announced at the end of last year, and chief operating officer John Leahy said he’s now confident of securing more than 600 deals by the time the French expo ends.

Boeing has maintained that it won’t be rushed by Airbus into a decision.