Brazil, Russia win Farnborough's small jet orders
FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom — Brazilian and Russian firms won the race for small regional jet orders at the Farnborough airshow on Wednesday, leaving new player Japan and Canada's Bombardier trailing badly.
Airlines and leasing companies splashed out billions of dollars on planes carrying around 100 passengers from Brazil's Embraer and Russia's Sukhoi but sat tight on Mitsubishi's new planned jet and Bombardier's CSeries.
Short-haul planes are being snapped up to meet soaring demand for air travel across emerging markets, especially in Asia, and ahead of an expected upturn in European and US economic growth.
Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi said Wednesday it had sold 30 single-aisle Superjet 100s worth more than 900 million dollars (702 million euros) to leasing group Pearl Aircraft Corporation.
Pearl also has an option to buy 15 more of the planes, according to an announcement at the Farnborough International Airshow near London.
"We are convinced it is the best 100-seat aircraft available and proposed," said Pearl chief executive Jan Soderberg. "Its superior economics outclass all its competitors."
Sukhoi, renowned for its military aircraft, also announced at the biennial Farnborough event the sale of 30 Superjet 100s to Indonesian regional carrier Kartika Airlines, confirming a preliminary agreement.
By contrast Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), which is making Japan's first ever passenger jet, failed to secure any new orders at Farnborough.
"We have been trying very hard to make an announcement during the show but unfortunately we couldn't make it, but we are expecting to reach some agreement in the foreseeable future," MRJ's head of sales Masao Yamagami told reporters.
The state-backed company is expected to take to the skies in 2014 with its 70-90 seater fuel-efficient planes. MRJ is also looking at 100-seater aircraft.
The ambitious project got a huge boost ahead of Farnborough when MRJ landed a 100-plane order worth up to 4.0 billion dollars from US carrier Trans States.
It was the second order for the MRJ which officially got off the ground in 2008 after launch customer All Nippon Airways agreed to buy up to 25 of the jets.
But it quickly flew into the turbulence of the global economic downturn that forced many carriers, including Japan Airlines, to slash jobs and routes to keep flying.
There was also disappointment at Farnborough for Canada's Bombardier, which had hoped to announce a deal to sell its new CSeries jet to Qatar Airways.
The Gulf carrier said it was still interested in acquiring the plane after snapping up two Bombardier Global 5000 business jets worth 90 million dollars.
The biggest success of the regionals went to Embraer, which on Tuesday unveiled a deal to sell up to 140 of its small jets worth 5.0 billion dollars.
Embraer said British low-cost airline Flybe agreed to buy at least 35 Embraer 88-seater E175 jets, with options on another 65 planes and purchase rights for a further 40.
Embraer also won an order for 24 of its E190 jet from Republic Airlines in the United States worth 960 dollars at catalogue prices.
Competition in the small jet sector looks set to intensify as China is also planning to enter the market.
The Farnborough show is one of aviation's biggest trade events, with deals announced over its three days worth more than 50 billion dollars, mostly for US group Boeing and its European rival Airbus.
On Wednesday, Boeing said top US carrier American Airlines ordered 35 of its medium-haul 737 aircraft, worth 2.7 billion dollars at catalogue prices.
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