Airbus looked intent on making up for two years of persistent hits to its credibility virtually all at once yesterday with a nearly uninterrupted string of sales, order “commitments” and MoU announcements, led by firm orders for 80 A350 XWBs from Qatar Airways and 60 A320s from GE Commercial Aviation Service. If nothing else, yesterday’s tally of firm orders for more than 200 Airbus airplanes boosted the confidence of Airbus chief operating officer for customers John Leahy’s staff, which obviously kept itself busy over the past months working to ensure a big splash on the salon’s opening day.
Of course, they got a lot of help from a sizeable contingent of Middle Eastern guests, including Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways, which inked a firm contract to buy 30 A320s, raising its total order commitment for the type to 40. Established in 2005 as the first privately held airline in the Middle East, Jazeera currently flies five of the European narrowbodies.
