Airbus and Boeing opened the Paris air show with a flurry of multi-billion-dollar plane deals yesterday (June 15) as demand from Middle Eastern and Asian airlines swelled their already bulging order books.

Airbus signed up Saudi Arabian Airlines to be the launch customer of its new A330-300 Regional aircraft, with the carrier committing to 20 of the planes as well as 30 A320neo jets in a deal worth about $8.2 billion at list prices, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The European planemaker also said Garuda Indonesia had signed a letter of intent to buy 30 A350 XWB jets, potentially worth around $9 billion.

The same airline, meanwhile, committed to buy up to 30 of Boeing's 787-9 Dreamliners and 30 737 MAX 8 jets in a deal that could be worth about $10.9 billion.

Adding to the flurry of deals, Qatar Airways ordered 10 Boeing 777-8X jets and four 777 freighters, valued at a total of $4.8 billion at list prices, while GE Capital Aviation Services ordered 60 Airbus A320neo aircraft valued at around $6.4 billion.

Despite the activity, analysts expect this year's aerospace industry meeting to produce fewer blockbuster deals than in the recent past, with the focus turning to the task of producing the $1.8 trillion of jets already sold.

Nonetheless, demand remains robust, particularly from fast-growing Middle Eastern and Asian airlines.

Airbus raised its 20-year forecast for jet demand by nearly four per cent to 32,600, driven by growth from these regions.

That broadly echoed Boeing's assessment of the market last week.

Unlike Boeing, Airbus sounded upbeat about prospects for four-engined superjumbos, including its A380, the world's biggest passenger plane, which has so far failed to live up to sales expectations.

'Very large aircraft are required over the next 20 years, we can't just increase efficiency,' Airbus sales chief John Leahy said, pointing to airport congestion as a reason to use larger planes.

In a bid to revive interest in the A380, Airbus is in talks with customers about possibly putting new engines on the jet or making a version with about 50 more seats.

Boeing said on the eve of the air show that it was exploring a potential market of more than 1,000 jets in a niche between its single-aisle 737 and wide-body 787, but had not decided whether to invest in a new plane. – TradeArabia News Service