Airbus Group (EPA:AIR) has signed another order at the Singapore air show, taking its tally closer to rival Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO) as the latter reels from the groundings of its 737 Max 9 jets last month.
Airbus said a memorandum of understanding had been agreed with Vietjet Air for 20 Rolls-Royce-powered A330-900 aircraft on Thursday.
These will replace the carrier’s current fleet and come after the French manufacturer unveiled orders for eight jets from Taiwan-based Starlux on Wednesday.
Boeing has indeed scored orders itself, with the US firm looking to rebound from a decline in activity in January on the back of an incident in which a door panel fell off one of its 737 Max 9s mid-flight.
Agreements include orders from Royal Brunei Airlines for four 787 Dreamliners and Thai Airways for 45 of the wide-body jets, though the latter represented a pre-arranged ceremonial signing after the duo reached an agreement in December.
Either way, XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks said the orders suggested companies were “moving on from the 737 Max controversy”.
Thai’s order for the 787, which Brooks noted had a longer range than Airbus’ rival A330, is where “Boeing has an advantage over its European rival,” she said.
Alongside this, the carrier’s option to exchange some of the 787 orders for the new 777X - due to be released next year - shows how “hotly anticipated” the aircraft is, “even with Boeing's recent troubles”.
“This is a big vote of confidence in Boeing after a bruising few months,” Brooks added.