Market Intelligence: -Airline Aircraft Orders

Taiwan’s STARLUX Airlines Places 2025 Order for New Freighters

Taiwan – STARLUX Airlines of Taiwan has placed a firm order with Airbus for five more A350F freighters. This doubles an initial order from the airline last year for five of the all-new cargo aircraft. The A350F fleet will be operated by STARLUX Cargo on some of the world’s busiest freight routes.

“The cargo market is set to become a key element in our business model and will benefit from the advantages offered by Taiwan’s geographical location,” said STARLUX CEO Glenn Chai. “The A350F is the perfect choice for STARLUX, offering a similar payload-range capability as previous generation freighters, but with very significant reductions in fuel consumption and carbon emissions.”

“We thank STARLUX Airlines for its ongoing confidence in Airbus and its products,” said Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus EVP Sales Commercial Aircraft at Airbus. “The A350F will fit seamlessly into the carrier’s latest generation all-Airbus fleet which offers unrivalled levels of technical and operational commonality. This second order from this fast-growing airline is another endorsement of the all-new A350F as the future game-changer in heavy lift markets.”

To date STARLUX Airlines operates a fleet of 26 Airbus aircraft including the A321neo, the A330neo and the A350-900.

Currently under development, the A350F can carry a payload of up to 111 tonnes and can fly up to 4,700 nautical miles / 8,700 kilometres. Powered by the latest Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, the aircraft will bring a reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions of up to 40% when compared to previous generation aircraft with a similar payload-range capability.

The A350F features the largest main deck cargo door in the industry, with fuselage length and capacity optimised around the industry’s standard pallets and containers. Over 70% of the airframe is made of advanced materials, resulting in a 46 tonne lighter take-off weight than the competing derivative. The A350F is also the only freighter aircraft that will fully meet ICAO’s enhanced CO₂ emissions standards, coming into effect in 2027.

At the end of November 2024, the latest generation widebody A350 Family had won 1,345 orders from 61 customers worldwide, including 55 for the all-new A350F from 10 leading cargo carriers.

Source: Airbus
Photo Credit: Airbus

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Airbus Reports 766 Commercial Aircraft Deliveries in 2024

  • Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft in 2024.
  • 878 gross orders (826 net), including 82 A330s and 142 A350s
  • Demonstrates continued momentum for widebody orderbook complementing leading position in single aisle market
  • The 2024 year end backlog stands at 8,658 aircraft.

Toulouse, France – Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft to 86 customers around the world in 2024. The Commercial Aircraft business registered 878 gross new orders. As a result, its 2024 year end backlog stood at 8,658 aircraft.

Christian Scherer, CEO Commercial Aircraft at Airbus said, “2024 confirmed sustained demand for new aircraft. We won key customer decisions with most important customers and saw phenomenal momentum for our widebody orderbook, complementing our leading position in the single aisle market. On deliveries, we kept our trajectory and celebrated several landmark firsts. These include the first ever A321XLR as well as first A330neo and A350 deliveries to several customers globally.”

Airbus’ 2024 aircraft fleet deliveries

A220 Family – 75
A320 Family – 602
A330 Family – 32
A350 Family – 57
Total: 766

“Given the complex and fast-changing environment we continue to operate in, we consider 2024 a good year. It has been a massive team effort to deliver this 2024 result. A big thanks to Team Airbus who do what they do, every day, for our customers. And a big thanks to our customers for continuing to put their trust in us and grow our partnerships across the world,” he added.

Airbus’ 2024 full year Financial Results will be disclosed on 20 February 2025.

Source: Airbus
Photo Credit: Airbus

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Global Aircraft Lessor Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Nordic Aviation Capital

Dubai, U.A.E. – Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd (“DAE”) announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the Nordic Aviation Capital group of companies (“NAC” or “Nordic Aviation Capital”), an aircraft leasing company formed over 30 years ago. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As of September 2024, NAC’s fleet comprised of 252 owned and committed assets on lease to approximately 60 airline customers in approximately 40 countries.

On a pro forma basis, DAE Capital’s fleet will comprise of approximately 750 owned, managed and committed aircraft with a total value of approximately US$22 billion on lease to approximately 170 airline customers in approximately 70 countries.

Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer of DAE, commented, “We are delighted at this opportunity to add NAC’s capabilities, complementary market presence, and people to our platform. This transaction will allow us to provide more cost-effective solutions to a larger group of customers.”

The transaction will be appropriately capitalized and funded by internal resources and committed debt financing. Consequently, DAE’s leverage and funding metrics will remain comfortably within the levels consistent with DAE’s credit ratings. The transaction is subject to required regulatory approvals and approval of the shareholders of NAC Holdings Limited and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

DAE was advised by Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP and KPMG.

About DAE
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd is a globally recognized aviation services corporation with two divisions: DAE Capital and DAE Engineering. Headquartered in Dubai, DAE serves over 170 airline customers in over 65 countries from its seven office locations in Dubai, Dublin, Amman, Singapore, Miami, New York, and Seattle.

DAE Capital is an award-winning aircraft lessor with an owned, managed, and committed fleet of approximately 500 Airbus, ATR, and Boeing aircraft with a fleet value of US$18 billion. DAE Engineering provides regional MRO services to customers in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South Asia from its state-of-the-art facility in Amman, Jordan, accommodating up to 17 wide and narrow body aircraft. It is authorized to work on 15 aircraft types and has regulatory approval from over 25 regulators globally.

Source: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise
Photo Credit: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise

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Airbus: China Aviation Services Market is Expected to be the Largest by 2043

Beijing, China – China will overtake North America and Europe to become the largest market for aviation services by 2043, with its market value almost tripling from US$23bn in 2024 to US$61bn in 2043 according to Airbus’ latest Global Services Forecast (GSF).

Despite multiple challenges, China’s civil aviation market has been resilient in 2024. A total of 700 million travelers are expected to have flown during the year, representing the highest volume to date. At the same time, the further development of China’s international hub airports have made it easier for connecting with domestic traffic. The services market value in 2024 has grown to US$23bn from US$18.6bn in 2023, or by 24% year on year.

China continues to show strong fleet growth potential in the next 20 years. By 2043, China will have 11,160 aircraft in service based on Airbus Global Market Forecast, in which 9,520 are new deliveries (including passenger aircraft and freighter), accounting 20% of the global demand. Among the new aircraft, more than 26% are intended to replace the current fleet. Thanks to the strong growth of new deliveries and traffic demand, China’s overall services demand is expected to grow with 5.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), making the country the biggest service market in the world. The three main drivers for this growth are the services areas of maintenance, training and operation and solutions for fleet enhancement.

In China, maintenance services represent almost 83% of the total services market. The ‘Maintain’ sector will grow from US$19bn in 2024 to US$51bn in 2043 (+5.3% CAGR) as the fleet expansion and aging fleets drive the growth of maintenance spending, dismantling and recycling demand (CAGR +14.4%) and Used Serviceable Material (USM) business.

The ‘Enhance’ services, representing 10% of the overall services market and mainly concerning connectivity solutions enabled by digitalisation, is expected to be the sector with fastest growth at a CAGR of 5.6% from US$2 billion in 2024 to US$6 billion in 2043.

At the same time, new skills are required to secure the growing use of digital and new technologies. For the ‘Train and Operate’ market, there’s a demand of additional 478,000 skilled workers including technicians, pilots and cabin crew with the growth from US$2bn to US$4bn in 2043, all in need of professional training and flight operations solutions.

Source: Airbus
Photo Credit: Airbus

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Lufthansa Group Places Order for 5 Additional A350 Aircraft – Delivery Between 2028 and 2030

  •  Five more Airbus A350-1000s ordered
  • A total of 75 A350-900s and A350-1000s aircraft ordered for Lufthansa Group airlines, with 28 already in scheduled service; 47 more to be delivered by 2031
  • Important step towards fleet modernization, product enhancement and CO₂ reduction

The Lufthansa Group is purchasing further Airbus long-haul aircraft, increasing its firm orders for A350-1000 aircraft from ten to 15. The state-of-the-art aircraft of this order will be delivered between 2028 and 2030. The total value of the order is around two billion US dollars at list price. With a total of 60 A350-900s and 15 A350-1000s, the Lufthansa Group is one of the largest A350 customers worldwide.

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG:

“Today’s order underscores our great confidence in our long-standing, close and successful partnership with Airbus. With the state-of-the-art A350 long-haul jets, we are accelerating the largest fleet modernization the Group has done so far. We are investing more than ever before to make air transport more sustainable, to achieve our CO₂ reduction targets and at the same time offer our customers the highest level of comfort with a first-class travel experience.

 Including today’s order, the Lufthansa Group has ordered 770 aircraft from Airbus throughout its history and is proud to be the Airbus’ largest customer worldwide. With the upcoming integration of ITA Airways in January, the Airbus fleet of Lufthansa Group Airlines will grow by another 100 short- and long-haul aircraft.”   

New aircraft biggest lever for CO₂ reduction 

With a current fleet of around 740 commercial aircraft, the Lufthansa Group is pursuing a long-term fleet strategy focused on premium quality, cost efficiency and emissions reduction. Including the latest aircraft order, the Lufthansa Group currently has a total of around 250 new, fuel-saving aircraft on its order list, including 100 long-haul aircraft of the latest design. In the medium term, the highly efficient twin-engine long-haul jets are slated to replace four-engine aircraft types that are gradually being phased out. These include the Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-600 and Airbus A340-300 aircraft types.

Compared to their predecessors, the new additions to the Lufthansa Group fleet consume up to 35 percent less fuel consumption and emit correspondingly less CO₂. The Lufthansa Group aims to halve its net CO₂ emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 through reduction and compensation measures, and to achieve a neutral CO₂ balance by 2050.

The Lufthansa Group has already ordered ten A350-1000s back in March 2023, with deliveries due to start in April 2026. This aircraft type is 73.8 metres long and offers around 15 per cent more capacity than the A350-900.

Source: Lufthansa Group
Photo Credit: Lufthansa Group

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