VietJetAir set the bar for airliner orders at the Singapore Air Show on Tuesday with the purchase of 63 Airbus A320 aircraft worth about $6.4 billion. The show, which runs until Feb. 16, is expected to yield billions more in commercial, business and military orders. The VietJetAir order also includes options for 30 more aircraft and the package is a mix of its updated and re-engined A320 neo and A320 ceo (current engine option) and happened shortly after another showstopper for Airbus, the first public appearance of its A350 wide body. The plane is flying at the show and will be on static display, right next to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with which it will compete. Boeing issued a report saying the Asia Pacific Region will generate $1.9 trillion in aircraft sales in the next 20 years.
All the major OEMs are at the Singapore show as the region continues to grow in importance to their bottom lines. Cessna celebrated the first sale of a CJ4 to Japan while Gulfstream executives flew in from Hawaii on a G650 to open their new sales offices and set a speed record. Cessna’s sister company Beechcraft is there with a couple of King Airs and a T-6 while Piper announced its new dealer for the region is WingsOverAsia, based in Singapore but covering Malaysia and Indonesia, too.
