Orders At Singapore Airshow Top US $30 Billion
(SINGAPORE) The value of orders announced at the Singapore Airshow 2012 was treble that of the previous biennial event, surpassing even the most optimistic projections of its organiser.
As of yesterday, total order tally for civilian and military aircraft had exceeded US$30 billion, three times the US$10 billion at the Singapore Airshow 2010.
The numbers were welcome news for Jimmy Lau, managing director of show organiser Experia Events.
'I have managed 10 of the 16 airshows held in Singapore since 1981, and this has been the busiest,' he told BT. 'We are extremely delighted with the support we have been getting in terms of deal-making announcements.'
The bulk of the order announcements this year were from Indonesia's Lion Air. On Tuesday, the airline confirmed a US$22.4 billion deal for 230 single-aisle B737 planes from Boeing. BT understands that the deal was hammered out over the weekend leading into the airshow, though a Memorandum of Understanding was inked some months back.
Two days later, Lion Air said it was buying 27 ATR turboprop planes for some US$610 million, taking its total order for this aircraft type to 60.
Other more prominent announcements included Roll-Royce's sales of around US$490 million worth of Trent engines to Cebu Pacific and Fiji's Air Pacific; Embraer's sale of 10 E195 regional jets to Brazil's Azul for US$450 million; and a US$325 million deal between Airbus and the Indonesian military for nine C295 transport planes. Indonesia's Garuda Airlines ordered up to 18 Bombardier ACJ1000 jets worth as much as US$1.32 billion.
Airbus announced orders worth US$3.5 billion based on list prices, as Middle Eastern lessor ALAFCO bought 35 A320 jets and DrukAir purchased one of the single-aisle jets.
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China signed a deal to sell 20 C919 jets to Singapore-based BOC Aviation, making the Bank of China-owned lessor the 11th launch customer for the single-aisle aircraft.
There were also several smaller deals signed on the military and MRO side.
While total orders crossed US$30 billion, this is still smaller than the US$64 billion worth of orders in Dubai last November and over US$46 billion of orders in Paris in June last year.
But Mr Lau noted that this week's deals were announced at a time when the industry was facing turbulence.
A record 270 delegations from some 80 countries descended on Singapore for this year's event. Sixty-five aircraft were displayed in the 100,000 square metre outdoor area, including military planes, passenger airliners and luxury business jets.
Meanwhile, some 900 exhibitors from over 50 countries, including nearly two-thirds of the world's top 100 aerospace companies, took up booths at the indoor site.
And some 100,000 visitors are expected during the public days this weekend.
Mr Lau said Experia would push for more of the top 100 global aerospace players to be present here. He is also keen to get more country participation.
'We are planning to partner China in 2014 and bring it over as a featured country. Japan has also had a good experience and we hope for a more prominent participation in two years' time.'
The Singapore Airshow's defence exhibits are expected to continue gaining traction in a region where defence spending is fast expanding. Frost & Sullivan recently cited the Asia-Pacific market as making up 30 per cent of the US$1.65 trillion in global defence spending.
Defence exhibitors from Japan and the Ukraine made their presence felt here for the first time, and more countries could sign up in 2014.
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