Neo Draws Record Deal as Max Production Starts

Airbus won another big endorsement for its single-aisle series—potentially the biggest in its history—by securing a memorandum of understanding from India’s IndiGo covering 250 A320neos, the company said Wednesday.

If converted to a firm order, the contract with IndiGo would become Airbus’s single largest order ever in terms of number of aircraft. IndiGo has already placed firm orders for 100 current-generation A320s and 180 A320neos. The largest domestic airline in India by market share, IndiGo now operates 85 A320s, serving 31 cities in India and five international destinations.

News of Airbus’s most recent narrowbody success came a day after Boeing announced that production had started on its competing 737 Max. Boeing Fabrication Integrated AeroStructures in Auburn, Washington, has begun fabricating the airplane’s fuselage stringers, components that run the length of the fuselage to provide stability and strength.

After forming, Boeing plans to send the stringers to Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas, for incorporation into the first 737 Max fuselage. From there it plans to ship the fuselage to Boeing’s facility in Renton, Washington, for final assembly starting next year.

Separately, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approved Airbus’s new A350-900 widebody for Etops (Extended-range Twin-engine aircraft Operations) beyond 180 minutes’ diversion time, making the A350 the first new aircraft type ever to receive such a level of Etops approval before entry into service. The approval, which includes 180-minute Etops in the “basic” specification, also includes provisions for 300-minute and 370-minute Etops, depending on operator choice. The 370-minute option extends the diversion distance up to what Airbus calls an unprecedented 2,500 nm at one-engine-inoperative speed under standard atmospheric conditions.

Airbus, which said it expects corresponding approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration “soon,” asserts the 370-minute option will prove particularly beneficial on new direct southern routes between Australia, South Africa and South America, while the 300-minute option will allow for more efficient routes across the North and Mid-Pacific, such as from Southeast Asia and Australasia to the U.S.