Airbus has warned that the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa could result in the loss of 60 orders in 2011 – that’s 40% of the total expected from the region.
Habib Fekih, Airbus’s president for the Middle East region, said “I believe we can get close to 90 or 100 orders,” Fekih said. “Before the unrest I would have said 150, easily. The potential was there at the beginning of this year in some countries where there is unrest today.”
EgyptAir is now unlikely to order aircraft and Fekih has warned that deliveries to other destinations including Tunisia and Egypt to Yemen, Syria, Bahrain and Libya may be delayed. The Middle East accounts for about one-quarter of Airbus’s order backlog by value – $492 billion at list prices.
Although aircraft deliveries are likely to be delayed, Fekih is confident that it “will not impact growth in the long run” mainly because “demand from the Middle East is still higher than in Europe and Asia”.
Although much of the region is experiencing political unrest, most of the countries with the highest order rate remain relatively benign from airlines – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.
Fekih says Middle Eastern demand for the A380 will be more subdued than previously although Qatar Airways has expressed interest to add more A380s to the five on order in advance of the 2022 football World Cup.
Emirates has 90 A380 aircraft on order and is expected to add more if it succeeds in sourcing takeoff and landing slots at target airports. Once tourists return to Egypt, the possibility of EgyptAir ordering the A380 could return, says Fekih.