Billions in Orders Booked at Singapore Airshow

Thousands descended on Singapore last week for the biannual Singapore Airshow, and by the end of the week, the event tallied $30 billion in new commercial and military aircraft orders, signaling strength in the Asian market.

The Asian market represents a big growth area for the industry, with particular emphasis on the business jet market.
Gulfstream announced a joint venture (JV) with Beijing Capital Airlines Co. Ltd. (Deer Jet) and Grand China Aviation Technik (GCAT) to operate a business jet service center at Beijing Capital International Airport.

“We will be the first business jet original equipment manufacturer to offer maintenance, repair and overhaul services for its customers in China, the fastest-growing market for business jets worldwide. The convenience factor alone of Gulfstream Beijing will help our Chinese customers lower their maintenance costs and increase aircraft availability,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support.

“Our business is not moving east…it has moved east,” said Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders. “The Asia-Pacific region is not just important for us in terms of sales, it also offers significant opportunities for industrial partnerships as we seek ways to meet increased demand for our products and to supplement industrial and engineering capacity in Europe.”

Among the big orders announced:

• Boeing and Jakarta-based Lion Air today finalized a firm order for 201 737 MAXs and 29 Next-Generation 737-900ERs (extended range). With orders for 230 airplanes valued at $22.4 billion at list prices, this deal is the largest commercial airplane order ever in Boeing’s history by both dollar value and total number of airplanes.
• Additionally, Lion Air announced orders for 27 ATR turboprops for $610 million, taking its total order for this aircraft type to 60.
• Airbus announced a series of deals at the show, including an A330 passenger-to-freighter conversion memorandum of understanding with ST Aerospace. Airbus also announced a purchase order with Kuwait-based ALAFCO for 35 A320neo Family aircraft, bringing this aviation lease and finance company’s total backlog for the type to 85.

Avionics companies Rockwell Collins and Honeywell announced a series of equipment orders in the region, as well.

South Korean low-cost carrier JEJU AIR has selected Honeywell to provide a full suite of avionics for its new fleet of Boeing 737-800 NGs. This multimillion-dollar contract covers six aircraft that are expected to be delivered between 2013 and 2017. China Eastern Airlines opted for a range of Honeywell avionics and other equipment for its fleet, including wheels and brakes for new and existing Boeing 737 NGs, as well as an avionics package and 131-9 auxiliary power units (APU) for 50 new Airbus A320s scheduled to be delivered during the next three years.

BOC Aviation has selected Rockwell Collins avionics as baseline, including its WXR-2100 MultiScan Threat Detection System and GLU-925 Multi-Mode Receiver (MMR), for up to 30 new Airbus A320s. Deliveries of the aircraft begin this year.