news about cheap fares and airlines from travel search engine Trabber

Airbus and a group of European airlines issued another warning that the European Commission faces sparking a trade war after extending its emission trading scheme to the global industry.

The plane maker had said that China has frozen some jet deals because of the scheme, and spearheaded a new warning to political leaders that more retaliation is imminent unless the European Union backs down and pursues a compromise.

International disquiet with the EU’s unilateral imposition of charges for aircraft carbon dioxide has drawn widespread threats of retaliation, though to date the only hard-line response has been Airbus’s recent claim that China suspended final approval of a $12 billion aircraft order placed last year.

source: wsj.com

In the wake of a record year for new aircraft sales, Airbus predicts that demand for its jets would fall by about half in 2012 as the waiting list for its popular single-aisle planes grew and airlines looked to its U.S. rival, Boeing, to fill their steadily increasing capacity needs.

Despite signs of a deepening slowdown in Europe and North America and waning airline industry profits, however, executives at the European plane maker and its parent, European Aeronautic Defense and Space, said they were confident the group’s performance would continue to buck the broader economic downtrend.

Airbus recorded net orders for 1,419 commercial jets in 2011, up from 574 in 2010, giving it a market share of 64 percent by volume, or around 54 percent by list-price value. Deliveries of new jets reached 534, up 5 percent from the previous year.

source: nytimes.com

Hong Kong Airlines has placed an order for 10 Airbus A380 aircraft worth about $3.8bn (£2.5bn) at list prices.

The contract will be a relief for the European planemaker, as the order risked being derailed by a dispute between the European Union and China.

Beijing opposes an EU plan that international airlines comply with a scheme to tackle carbon emissions.

But Kenneth Thong, HKA’s corporate governance head, told a television interview the order would go ahead.

source: BBC.co.uk

Boeing, moving to counter a competitive offering from rival Airbus, said it will roll out a more efficient version of its best-selling 737 narrowbody with a new engine in 2017.

The new model, named the 737 MAX, will compete with the revamped A320neo family from Airbus, a similar model due to be equipped with fuel-saving engines and delivered in 2015.

The Boeing jet will have engines from CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Co and France’s Safran.

source: Reuters

The Airbus factory in Broughton, Flintshire, has been given a major boost with the news that American Airlines is to buy 260 new aircraft.

It came as the US carrier announced its biggest ever order of 460 planes from Airbus and rival Boeing.

All 260 aircraft will also feature large, fuel-saving wingtip devices known as sharklets, as American moves to make its fleet as efficient as possible.

source: Wales Online

The latest A320 aircraft joins the two A318s, 33 A319s, 48 A320s and 16 A321s already operated by British Airways.

The 100th aircraft is also the 205th Airbus single-aisle delivered to International Airlines Group, which was formed in January this year with the merger of British Airways and Iberia.

Keith Williams, British Airways’ chief executive, said: “‘This milestone underlines British Airways’ commitment to continue to invest in new aircraft for the benefit of our customers. The average age of our short-haul Airbus fleet is just over seven years old, making it one of the youngest Airbus fleets of the European network carriers.’”

source: walesonline.co.uk

Three days after Airbus announced the largest order ever for commercial jets ” a $16 billion deal with India’s IndiGo Airlines ” Delta Air Lines appears set to place its own large order soon.

Delta is seeking to place an order for between 100 and 200 aircraft, with an option on 200 more.

The biggest winners likely would be The Boeing Co. and Airbus, the worlds largest commercial aircraft-makers.

source: bizjournals.com

In a statement this week, Airbus said that Indian carrier IndiGo ordered 180 A320s from the carrier. Of the total, 150 will be A320neo’s and 30 will be A320s.

Airbus said that the order is the single largest order in commercial aviation history. A typical A320 goes for $81.7 million per, and tack on an additional $6 million per for the A320neo. Arithmetic brings us to a total purchase price of $14.89 billion.

Airbus claims that the A320neo has specially designed wing tip devices, named Sharklets, that will deliver up to 15% in fuel savings, among other engine and operational variants that add to efficiency. IndiGo is the first airline to make a purchase of the new model.

source: streetinsider.com

The race to be the world’s biggest passenger jet maker has taken a new turn as Ryanair, one of Boeing’s biggest customers, hints at switching to Airbus, the US group’s European rival.

The Irish no-frills carrier, which said it was looking at ordering up to 300 jets, said it would be foolish to disregard Airbus as the manufacturer weighs plans to upgrade its best-selling A320 aircraft with new engines, a move Airbus said could cut fuel bills by as much as 15 per cent.

No formal talks are under way, and the prospect of such will seem distant to some, given the chilly relations since Ryanair abandoned talks with Airbus for a lucrative aircraft order it eventually placed with Boeing nearly five years ago.

source: FT.com