Airbus Wins Gulf Air Order Valued at $5.17 Billion

Airbus SAS, the world's largest planemaker, won an order from Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, for 35 jetliners worth $5.17 billion at list prices.
The order is for 15 single-aisle A320-series planes and 20 A330-300 widebodies, Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders and his Gulf Air counterpart, Bjorn Naf, said today at the Berlin Air Show. They didn't disclose the value.
Mideast airlines may boost their combined fleet by more than 60 percent to 900 planes by 2015, according to the Arab Carriers Organization. Demand from the region is holding up even as an economic slowdown in the U.S. and higher fuel prices push airlines elsewhere to curb growth.
The planes would be delivered to Gulf Air over a five-year period starting in 2011 or 2012, Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said. The Toulouse, France-based plane manufacturer has been forecasting that new orders will fall to 700 or 750 planes in 2008, the lowest level in four years, after a record 1,341 aircraft orders last year.
28/05/08 Chris Reiter and Andrea Rothman/Bloomberg

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Categories: Berlin air show 2008