During a visit by the Chinese president to its production sites in France, Airbus said it had won a major order from China for 140 planes totaling $22.8 billion. Even for big-ticket airplanes it is a massive booking.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Blumberg
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European aircraft maker said on Wednesday it had sealed the agreement with China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS), which chief executive Tom Enders called "one of the biggest contracts signed in a long time by Airbus."
"This underscores the strong demand by Chinese airlines in all segments, from domestic and low-cost to the regional and international long-haul market," Airbus said in a statement.
The company said a market analysis forecast a doubling of demand worldwide for planes with more than 100 seats to 40,000 aircraft in the next 20 years, fueled largely by demand from developing markets such as China.
A long time in the making
"In the mid-1990s we had a market share (in China) of five to six percent," Enders said. "Twenty years later we have around 50 percent - we really put our foot on the gas."
The European aircraft maker said its A320 line of planes was the world's best-selling single-aisle aircraft with more than 13,000 orders and 7,600 planes already delivered.
In January 2016, BOC Aviation, owned by Bank of China, announced an order for 30 A320s worth over $3 billion to meet growing demand.
At last month's Paris Air Show, Airbus announced 326 orders worth nearly $40 billion. However, it was outpaced at the event, one of the biggest annual sales bazaars in the industry, by Boeing thanks to its new 737 MAX 10 airliner, taking in a total of 571 orders for nearly $75 billion.
Underscoring the economic ties between Berlin and Beijing, Chinese and European companies - including German carmaker Daimler and the nation's industrial giant Siemens - signed a total of eight contracts this week.
President Xi Jinping was in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the G20 summit starting Friday. His visit was part of a series of diplomatic meetings ahead of the meeting.
A fresh wind in Le Bourget
After a multi-year boom, aircraft manufactures have recently been in a sales lull. But the world's largest aviation fair in Le Bourget, a suburb of Paris, is supposed to change all that.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/M. Euler
Plane art
… looks quite nice, at least on this Embraer E195-E2 prototype. But it is doubtful if it will make big waves in the mass market of commercial airlines. Despite this the Brazilian manufacturer along with Comac from China and Irkut of Russia are aiming to become real competition for giants Airbus and Boeing.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/M. Euler
Reaching into its box of tricks
... is supposed to bring a turnaround at Airbus. Since sales of the huge A380 are slow, the European aircraft builder is experimenting with larger bent-wing ends. This will allow the new "A380plus" to use up to four percent less kerosene than current straight-wing models.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kunigkeit
It takes two to fight
... but while Airbus and Boeing are dueling it out, there are many others just waiting to fill market niches. China, for example, just introduced its Wing Loong II drone. Unmanned drone taxis could revolutionize urban transport, according to some visions of the future.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Euler
When rumors come true
… according to gossips, Lockheed Martin, a producer of military jets, could be steps away from the biggest fighter jet order in its history. A group of eleven countires, including the US, are planning to order a total of 440 F-35 jets in three tranches. The fighter jet in our picture is hovering over the French exhibition grounds.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Piermont
More complicated than it looks
... the instrument panel in this test version of Boeing’s 787-10 is a lot to take in. Boeing is expanding its range of products for long distance flights. This variation offers more room for passengers than the current models. Supposedly 149 of the planes have already been ordered; Singapore Airlines should be one of the first to take delivery in 2018.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Piermont
New technologies
... are also finding their way onboard. Here, Maziar Farzam, head of the company Inhance Digital, presents his virtual reality glasses in front of a Boeing 787-10. These glasses are supposed to provide pilots with additional information. Airbus developers also hope that in the future digital technology can save 30-50 percent of plane manufacturing costs.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Not yet defect free
… the A400M military transport plane remains a problem for Airbus. This was most recently felt by German Defense Minister von der Leyen during a trip to Lithuania, when an engine failed and the plane was grounded in Kaunas.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Even the Austrians
... can build aircraft. Here is the Daimond DA42 MPP from Daimond Aircraft Industries Austria. MPP stands for Multi Purpose Platform. According to the manufacture the DA42 can be used as a sea and coastal reconnaissance plane to combat illegal fishing and piracy.