Airbus claims a 737 customer defection - but it's not - The Seattle Times

Airbus sales chief John Leahy at the Paris Air Show Monday trumpeted an order from Scandinavian airline SAS as something he dearly wants to snare: a defection from a major Boeing 737 customer to his re-engined rival jet, the A320 neo.

SAS, which currently flies 90 Boeing 737s and has only 24 A320s, is replacing its older jets.

Monday, it ordered 30 A320neos to be delivered from 2016 with next-generation LEAP engines from CFM.

"They have selected the neo as their new single-aisle aircraft," Leahy declared at a news conference with SAS deputy president Goran Jansson.

The implication was that SAS would henceforth be an Airbus customer, switching from 737s and no longer buying Boeing.

Not really. That's just Leahy's Air Show showmanship.

Certainly, it's a good win for Leahy. And he'll be pleased to hear that after he had exited to go off to his next deal, Jansson said in an interview that the A320neo has a performance advantage over the current 737.

That contradicts assertions by Boeing, which claims its current 737 is more efficient now than the A320 will be when it comes out mid-decade.

Jansson said Airbus made the better offer, also beating out Bombardier, whose new CSeries jet was under consideration along with those from Airbus and Boeing.

But in the interview, Jansson clarified that SAS is not defecting permanently from the 737.

The carrier has four aircraft types in its current fleet of 225 jets -- older 737 Classics, current 737NGs, A320s and MD-80s -- and he said it intends to consolidate down to just two aircraft types by gradually replacing the older ones, the MD-80s and the 737 Classics.

Jansson said the plan is to create an all-Airbus hub in Copehagen, Denmark, flying A320s on short-haul routes, and two Boeing hubs in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, flying 737NGs on short haul routes.

"It's always good to have two competitive guys working for you," Jansson said.

As the new Airbus A320neo planes are delivered, older A320s will be retired, so that at the end of the replacement process SAS will still have only 30 A320s.

It has separately begun leasing 737NGs as replacements for its older 737s in Stockholm and Oslo.

He said that SAS likely won't buy more new planes for the next five years, but when it does, both Boeing and Airbus will be considered.

So which is SAS's "new single-aisle aircraft," the A320neo or the 737NG?

"The two are," said Jansson.

Luckily, Leahy was no longer around to hear that.