Airbus dominates Paris Air Show debut as Boeing sits out order frenzy

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury (L) speaks at the Airbus pavillon as France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou (2nd L) attends the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport, in Le Bourget, suburb of Paris on June 16, 2025. (AFP)

Airbus SE kicked off the Paris Air Show with orders from Saudi Arabian customers valued at as much as $17 billion and a major purchase from Poland, building an early lead over Boeing Co., which scaled back its presence at the event following a crash involving one of its jets in India last week.

Airbus first landed an order for as many as 77 freighter and passenger aircraft from Saudi Arabian lessor AviLease, followed by a deal for as many as 50 of its A350-1000 widebody jets from Riyadh Air. Later in the day, Poland’s LOT Airlines said it would purchase 40 A220 airliners, with an option to extend the accord to 84 units.

The two announcements give Airbus a leg-up in the typically hard-fought contest for orders at the expo. This year’s event took a tragic twist last week after an India Air jetliner crashed, killing all but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. As a result, Boeing canceled its senior executives’ appearances at the show, and the company has also scaled back plans for any commercial announcements.

AviLease, backed by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, agreed to acquire 30 Airbus A321 single-aisle jets, with options for 25 more, as well as 10 A350 freighters plus 12 options. After typical industry discounts, the order could approach $8 billion in value, based on estimates from consulting firm Ishka.

The deal follows the Public Investment Fund-backed leasing firm’s purchase of as many as 30 Boeing Co. 737 jets last month during Donald Trump’s Gulf tour.

“It was a very hard-fought battle” between the A350 and Boeing’s 777 freighter, AviLease Chief Executive Officer Edward O’Byrne said at a press event announcing the deal. “A350 came out on top.”

The two announcements underscore Saudi Arabia’s rising clout in the global aviation market, as the kingdom seeks to assert its presence in global trade and tourism. Riyadh Air, which plans to begin operations by the end of the year, has already purchased 60 A321 narrowbody jets from the European planemaker.

In the aftermath of last week’s tragedy, Indian authorities ordered inspections of Air India’s fleet of Boeing 787 jets as investigators seek to determine the cause.

Even before the disaster set back Boeing’s plans, Airbus was set to have a strong showing in Paris. A number of Boeing deals were announced during Trump’s tour through the Middle East last month, leaving Airbus on the sidelines as the US president played the role of head salesman for his US rival.

“We have to be better,” Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Monday. “That is what we are trying to achieve with our products, making sure Airbus sells planes on the merits of the planes.”

AviLease was founded in 2022 and is among companies that the Saudi sovereign wealth fund has bankrolled as part of a push to turn the kingdom into a global trade, logistics and tourism hub, and pivot away from its reliance on oil.

“There is a tremendous amount of infrastructure needed in the kingdom for cargo and logistics,” O’Byrne said.

The Saudi lessor purchased the aviation leasing business of Standard Chartered Plc in 2023, and now has a portfolio of 200 owned and managed aircraft on lease to 48 airlines globally.

The Polish deal gives Airbus a foothold in a market that’s historically been Boeing’s home turf. LOT said it spent more than a year hashing out the accord, and the airline will get rid of its older Embraer SA aircraft as well the more modern E2 units over time to create creater fleet commonality.

Deliveries will in the middle of 2027, LOT said.