Jakarta Globe, Arientha
Primanita, March 18, 2013
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Lion Air founder and president director Rusdi Kirana, left, and French CEO of
European aerospace giant Airbus Fabrice Bregier, right, pose with France's
President Francois Hollande, after signing a contract during a ceremony.
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Paris. Lion
Air President Rusdi Kirana confirmed on Monday that the airline was ordering
234 Airbus jets to be delivered from 2014 to 2026 worth $24 billion.
"We
are going to buy different kinds, but mostly the Airbus A320neo, [we ordered]
174 units of that," he told reporters in Paris ahead of the expected
signing of the record deal.
The more
fuel-efficient and eco-friendly Airbus A320neo has a price tag of more than
$100 million. The Airbus website says it has "a 15 percent reduction in
fuel consumption, two tonnes of additional payload, up to 500 nautical miles of
more range, lower operating costs, along with reductions in engine noise and
emissions."
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| A Boeing 737-900ER aircraft owned by Indonesian carrier Lion Air flies over Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. (AFP Photo/Adek\ Berry) |
"With
the new Airbus jets, we are going to have two airlines operating in
Asia-Pacific countries. There are two ways of doing this — either we set up a
completely new airline or we purchase an existing airline that needs
funding," he said, adding that Lion Air had not yet decided on the
countries it would have the new airline in.
The
purchase, he added, would be funded almost entirely by export credit agencies
from France, Germany and England.
Lion Air
would be a new client for Airbus as it has previously been equipped almost
exclusively by US rival Boeing. In 2011, the Indonesian carrier signed a record
$22.4 billion deal for 230 Boeing 737 airliners, which was also funded by the
Ex-Im Bank.
The Lion
Air order marks at least the third attempt by Airbus to woo Lion Air, long seen
as a fortress for Boeing. It is likely to throw the spotlight on an intense
battle for market share between the largest planemakers.
"Of
course [Airbus] approached us. They need us, as buyers we are king," Rusdi
said.
The order
is also likely to add zest to a regional battle for supremacy between Lion Air
and AirAsia, the low-cost carrier founded by Malaysian entrepreneur Tony
Fernandes.
The
airlines are respectively among the top buyers of Boeing and Airbus jets.
Airlines rarely switch suppliers because of re-training costs and the burden of
keeping extra spares, but the practice of "flipping" has grown as
market share battles raged.
Edward
Sirait, Lion Air's director for general affairs, said there was no problem with
Lion Air having both Boeing and Airbus planes in its fleet.
"There
is no law that states airlines can only use one kind of aircraft. And we are
expanding and Indonesia is a growing market," he said.
Additional reporting from AFP
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| Indonesia's Lion Air has placed the largest ever commercial airplane order in Boeing's history, valued at $21.7 billion. (AFP Photo) |
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