An AirAsia Airbus A330, yesterday.

Airbus A320 NEO Breaks Sales Records   

The 2011 Paris Air Show is proving to be very lucrative for Airbus, so much so that a global sales record has been broken at Le Bourget.

Thursday 23rd June 2011 saw Malaysian Airline, AirAsia, make a substantial order for 200 of the airframe manufacturer's A320NEO aircraft.

If you're a shareholder in Airbus, the news gets even better: AirAsia also took options on 100 more aircraft in a deal estimated to be worth $17 billion. The deal also makes AirAsia Airbus's biggest customer.

The A320NEO (New Engine Option) is a family of commercial airliners based on the current A320 family but with enhanced engines and improvements to the wing and fuselage structure for better fuel economy. Early reports suggest a 15% improvement over the A320's current rival, the Boeing 737.

This order is Airbus's second huge order in only 13 months; Emirates ordered an additional 32 double-decker A380s at the Berlin Air Show in June 2010 taking the Dubai-based airline's total commitment on the type to 90!

Boeing was expected to announce the 797 at Paris but didn't. The 797 would be the all-new 737 replacement, but instead Boeing said the 737NG was already competitive and they would enhance it further instead of doing a clean-sheet design.

The reason why Airbus can simply fit new, more efficient, engines while Boeing can't to the 737 is the available ground clearance. The Airbus A320 family (comprising of the A320, the smaller A319 and the stretched A321, as well as a now-out-of-production shrunken model called the A318, dubbed the Babybus) has a wing that is higher off the ground that the 737, this allows the European airframer to fit bigger engines under the wings. Bigger engines mean higher bypass, and high bypass means efficiency.

The future is looking bright for Airbus and comparatively dire for Boeing. The decision made back in the early 1980s to position the wings where they are on the A320 family has proven incredibly valuable and has put Boeing in a very tough spot. Rumours are abound that the 797 hasn't yet been ruled out but unless Chicago-based Boeing announces it soon they might miss the 'bus...