Emirates, Air France and International Lease Finance (ILFC) have signed letters of intent covering firm orders for 22 Airbus A3XXs subject to the industrial launch of the 550-seater, expected by the end of this year. GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has also added its name to the list of prospective buyers.
The LoIs come as a major boost to the A3XX marketing campaign and represent around half of the estimated 40-50 firm orders Airbus says it needs to go ahead with the $10.7 billion programme.
Dubai-based Emirates has signed for five full-passenger A3XXs to be delivered between February and December 2006, plus five options, and a pair of freighters to be handed over in early-2008.
The airline predicts that its total passenger traffic will double over the next five years and says larger aircraft will be required to maintain rapid growth into the second half of the decade.
"We will be able to carry more passengers from already-congested airports with limited take-off and landing slots," says Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum. It is understood the airline will configure its A3XXs with a 575-seat layout weighted towards economy traffic, with just 12 first class and 68 business class seats.
Route plans have not been finalised, but the carrier says it is likely to deploy its passenger A3XXs on routes from Dubai to London Heathrow, Bombay, Bangkok and Manila plus destinations in Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Air France has signed for 10 firm aircraft for delivery between October 2006 and 2009, plus four options. The initial five routes will be Paris to New York, Montreal, Miami, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
"There are some problems we face at these airports in terms of capacity," says Air France president Jean-Cyril Spinetta.
ILFC has signed for five of the ultra-large aircraft, which it plans to receive from late-2005. Chief executive Steve Hazy says that with passenger traffic growing at an annual rate of 5-12% annually in many markets "the only way to progress is through an increased size aircraft".
Though Airbus claims the A3XX will provide a 15-20% improvement in seat mile costs compared with the Boeing 747-400, Hazy says his expectation is a more modest "12-15%".
ILFC's main rival GECAS is also in discussion about an A3XX order with company president Henry Hubschman saying that "negotiations effectively amount to a letter of interest".
In addition to the 22 firm commitments, Airbus claims to hold letters of interest for a further 50 aircraft from seven customers, three of which are undisclosed.
Source: Flight International
