Singapore Latest in the Aircraft Importer List to Buy Jets from Airbus

Singapore Airlines is, currently, the latest company in the aircraft importer list to buy commercial jets from Europe's Airbus. Recently, the Asian air travel firm has ordered 29 brand new passenger airplanes from the European aircraft producer thus boosting its sales and revenues. According to reports, Singapore Airlines is purchasing 9 A380 superjumbo jets and 20 of the huge and newly designed A350 in a deal amounting to $7.5 billion thus making it one of the biggest airplane clients in the importer list. Earlier this July, Airbus reported that orders from the aircraft importer list have fallen behind that of its competitor Boeing (US) this year. Moreover, the European airplane maker is facing some compensation claims from some firms in the aircraft importer list after it disclosed that its A380 deliveries would be delayed due to wiring problems. Gustav Humbert, then, left his post as Airbus chief executive due to the production issues. Likewise, Noel Forgeard also left his position as co-chief executive of EADS (the parent company of Airbus) due to similar reasons. Mr. Forgeard resigned after he was accused of deliberately trading the shares of EADS to the market before the announcement that the release of A380 planes would be delayed. Airbus SAS is based in France and is, currently, one of the leading aircraft producers worldwide that supply many of the nations in the airplane importer list. Formerly called as Airbus Industrie, Airbus was incorporated under the French law in 2001 as a "Société par Actions Simplifiée" (SAS) or simplified joint stock company. About 80% of the company's shares are owned by the EADS while the rest pertain to BAE Systems. The two firms are the two biggest defense contractors in Europe. At present, Airbus employs 55,000 people and operates in 16 locations in 4 European nations namely: the UK, Germany, Spain, and France. Singapore Airlines stated that it had considered the option for 6 A380-800's and 20 A350 XWB-900's. According to the Asian airline company, the brand new A350 planes would be delivered between 2012-2014 while the new A380's would start operating between 2008 -2010. The recent purchase of Singapore Airlines of the A350 XWB planes is very important to Airbus, which released the newly designed and enlarged version of the A350 last month. Airbus redesigned its A350 in order to compete against Boeing's 787, which has attracted many companies in the aircraft Importer List. Singapore Airlines was among the first in the importer list to buy the A380 in 2001 when it ordered about 10 airplanes. The Asian air travel firm expects to make its first commercial flight before the end of this year. John Leahy, the sales director of Airbus, said that the recent deal with Singapore Airlines was a re-endorsement of their A380 program from one of their first and biggest clients. He added that unlike the other airline companies, Singapore Airlines was not disappointed by the delay of the delivery of the A380 planes. Aside from Singapore Airlines, the A380 Importer List include: Emirates (43 airplanes), Lufthansa (15), Qantas (12), Air France (10), Fedex (10), International Lease Finance (10), MAS (6), Thai Airways (6), Virgin Atlantic (6), Korean Airlines (5), Etihad Airways (4), and Qatar Airways (2). For more valuable information on Importer list, please visit www.toboc.com