Etihad in massive $20bn aircraft order

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RECORD ORDER: Etihad has agreed to buy 100 planes from Airbus and Boeing worth around $20 billion. (Supplied)

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways ordered 100 planes worth over $20 billion from Airbus and Boeing on Monday as Gulf carriers ruled a slower-than-normal opening day at the Farnborough Airshow.

Etihad said it was buying 25 Airbus wide-body A350 aircraft, 10 A380 superjumbos and 20 single-aisle A320 planes in a transaction worth $11 billion at list prices.

Etihad also ordered 35 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777s, in a deal Boeing said was worth $9.4 billion.

Prior to the show, the deal was being described by UK press as the most valuable commercial aircraft order in aviation history.

The UK's Daily Telegraph said earlier this month the value of the deal could rise to more than the $34.9 billion placed by rival Dubai-based airline Emirates in May, citing aviation analysts.

The Middle East aviation industry has boomed in recent years - spurred by soaring oil revenues, developing tourism and additional airport and airline capacity - while Western airlines have struggled due to skyrocketing fuel costs and the global economic downturn.

Growth in Middle East air traffic has consistently been far higher than the rest of the world, with regional air traffic growth in April at 11% year-on-year, compared to worldwide passenger demand which increased by just 3% over the same period.

Etihad's passenger numbers rose more than 40 percent in the first half of 2008 compared with the same period last year. The state-owned airline carried 2.8 million passengers compared with two million in the first half of 2007.

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) also announced aircraft orders at the airshow, signing a $1.6 billion contract with Airbus for eight A330-300 wide body planes as part of its fleet modernisation plan.

The contract follows on order for 22 Airbus A320s signed by the Saudi national airline at the end of 2007, the first agreement with Airbus for commercial aircraft in 26 years.

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