by Sun Ruijun
ABU DHABI, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The 2009 Dubai Airshow entered the third day Tuesday, with the total amount of orders less than the first day of last airshow two years ago.
Boeing and Airbus, the world's two leading aircraft makers, inked a handful of minor deals, but around 8 billion U.S. dollars in orders so far still pales in significance to the 150 billion dollars-plus raked in at the last show in 2007, reported Maktoob Business, a leading business news website in the Middle East.
According to the report, Boeing announced orders for a total of11 737-800s from two Algerian airlines worth as much as 891 million dollars at list price, its first deals at the airshow.
Air Algerie has placed an order for seven 737-800s, while Tassili Airlines has signed a deal for four of the single-aisle aircraft, Boeing said in separate joint statements.
In addition, Airbus said La Reunion-based Air Austral has agreed to buy two A380 super jumbos in a deal worth about 660 million dollars at list price.
A380, the first with a full economy class configuration, will seat 840 passengers compared to the conventional three-class configuration that seats 525, Airbus said at the Dubai Airshow.
Maktoob Business said the Air Austral order takes the number ofA380s Airbus has sold to 202, adding that 20 of these planes are in operation, including five with Dubai-based airline Emirates, the biggest of Airbus' 17 customers for the superjumbo.
Besides the order from Air Austral, Airbus said it has also signed an agreement with Nepal Airlines for two aircraft in a deal valued at 250 million dollars.
Nepal Airlines has agreed to buy an A330-200 and an A320 and has options for four more aircraft, the report said, quoting a statement released by Airbus at the airshow.
The A330-200 will be delivered in the first quarter of 2011 and the A320 will be available in the third quarter of 2010, the statement said.
The options are for one A330, two A320s and one yet to be decided aircraft, according to Nepal Airlines.
Also on Tuesday, aircraft engine maker CFM International said it has signed deals with two North African airlines for its CFM56-5B engines worth a total of 275 million dollars.
CFM, a joint venture between GE Aviation and France's Snecma, said Tunisair has placed a 180-million-dollar order for CFM56-5B engines to power 10 Airbus A320 aircraft and options for two more.
Meanwhile, Libyan Airlines has placed a CFM56-5B order for seven A320s and options for five more, in a deal worth about 95 million dollars.
As for orders for military planes, Maktoob Business said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it has inked deals worth a combined 2.7 billion dirhams (about 734.3 million U.S. dollars) for early warning and training aircraft.
In a statement released during the Dubai Airshow, the UAE Armed Force said it has signed an 814.4-million-dirham agreement with Sweden's Saab for two 340 early warning aircraft and a 1.89-billion-dirham deal with Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland for 25 basic training aircraft.
The statement said the 814.4-million-dirham Saab deal includes value of the aircraft, associated systems, training, and providing maintenance, repair and overhaul services.
The first aircraft will be delivered in the third quarter of 2010, with the second delivered in the first quarter of 2011, it said.
On the Pilatus deal, the UAE Armed Force said it will include several training simulators to train pilots. The first will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2011 and deliveries will continue through the first quarter of 2012, the statement said.
The five-day Dubai Airshow, the region's foremost aviation exhibition, opened Sunday at the Dubai Airport Expo Center.
Some 900 companies from 48 countries or regions are exhibiting at the biennial event, an increase over the previous show in 2007.Up to 150 new-to-market exhibitors from 20 countries are making their debuts at the show and more than 50,000 visitors are expected.
However, in spite of the rise in exhibitors, this year has seen scant orders for commercial aircraft so far, with only Airbus scoring minor victories prior to Tuesday with a 3-billion-dollar order from Ethiopian Airlines and a 700-million-dollar order from Yemenia Airways, said Maktoob Business, which is closely following the exhibition.
This is in sharp contrast to plane orders approaching 40 billion dollars on the first day of the airshow in 2007, it said.
Analysts has said major buyers at the show this year will be from the Middle East and North Africa. Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, the total amount of orders is unlikely to surpass that of two years ago.
