Airbus Dominates Air Show, Boeing Sits Out Order Frenzy

Airbus 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, which scaled back its presence at the event following the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad.

- Bloomberg

Bloomberg [e-mail] LE BOURGET, FRANCE:

Airbus first landed an order for 77 freighter and passenger aircraft from Saudi Arabian lessor AviLease, followed by a deal for 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.

Following the crash, Boeing cancelled its senior executives' appearances at the show, and the company has also scaled back plans for any commercial announcements.