More big deals for industry rivals

The deals continued at the Farnborough Airshow yesterday, as Airbus announced a $4.2bn (£2.7bn) order from Cathay Pacific and Boeing unveiled its second multi-billion dollar order in as many days.

Airbus will supply the Hong Kong-based Cathay with 10 A350-1000 aircraft – worth about $3.2bn at list prices – and convert an existing order for 16 A350-900 jets to the larger model.

Boeing announced a deal to sell 100 of its next-generation narrow-body planes to GE Capital Aviation Services. This would be worth about $9.3bn at list prices, although GE is expected to secure a significant discount.