Becoming one of Asia's fastest growing airlines, Jakarta-based Lion Air recently made headlines last Monday. Lion Air of Indonesia has placed a MASSIVE order with Airbus for 234 A320 Family aircraft!
The order for this huge number of medium-haul jets was immediately hailed for its impact on European jobs.
"Thanks to this contract, Airbus will be able to secure 5,000 jobs over 10 years," the French president, François Hollande, said at the Elysée Palace.
Yes, the CEOs of Airbus and Lion Air both signed the contract in a ceremony at the French presidential palace, a sign of its importance to the government when layoff announcements are streaming out of French companies and unemployment is more than 10%. This order worth $24 billion that President Francois Hollande said should inspire the struggling French economy and all of Europe.
There are of course some suggestions that the airline had over-extended itself. As we remember, last year this company also gave the arch rival of Airbus, Boeing, its largest-ever order when it finalized a deal for 230 planes from the Chicago airplane manufacturer. The deal worth $21.7 billion. Before that, the biggest order by volume in Boeing's history came back in 1989, when United Airlines ordered 115 planes. Lion Air gave two largest orders to these 2 biggest plane makers. Wow.
One of the people who questioned Lion Air's growth plans is Tony Fernandes, the flamboyant CEO of Malaysian Air Asia. Well, as long as I know, he always become visibly irritated when it comes to Lion Air. Haha. I saw separate interviews about the deal between Tony and Rusdi Kirana (co-founder of Lion Air) on Reuters and found them kinda funny.
Kirana replied and mocked, "Is he an angel? Does he know the future?". LOL.
These 2 airline chiefs are definitely taking the battle for Asia’s budget-minded travelers to the backyard of the airline that helped pioneer low cost flights in the region. Well, Tony Fernandes surely hopes that Lion Air will lose its roar, but I hope it won't, since Lion Air is Indonesian! Good luck with those aircraft, Mr. Kirana! Lion roars!
The order for this huge number of medium-haul jets was immediately hailed for its impact on European jobs.
"Thanks to this contract, Airbus will be able to secure 5,000 jobs over 10 years," the French president, François Hollande, said at the Elysée Palace.
Yes, the CEOs of Airbus and Lion Air both signed the contract in a ceremony at the French presidential palace, a sign of its importance to the government when layoff announcements are streaming out of French companies and unemployment is more than 10%. This order worth $24 billion that President Francois Hollande said should inspire the struggling French economy and all of Europe.
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| CEO of Lion Air Rusdi Kirana of Indonesia, left, and CEO of Airbus, Frenchman Fabrice Bregier, right, with France's President Francois Hollande. |
One of the people who questioned Lion Air's growth plans is Tony Fernandes, the flamboyant CEO of Malaysian Air Asia. Well, as long as I know, he always become visibly irritated when it comes to Lion Air. Haha. I saw separate interviews about the deal between Tony and Rusdi Kirana (co-founder of Lion Air) on Reuters and found them kinda funny.
Asked if he was upset about the blockbuster deal between his top supplier and his closest rival, Fernandes said, "Why should I be? I think Lion has probably bitten off more than they can chew. We are focused on ourselves".
Kirana replied and mocked, "Is he an angel? Does he know the future?". LOL.
These 2 airline chiefs are definitely taking the battle for Asia’s budget-minded travelers to the backyard of the airline that helped pioneer low cost flights in the region. Well, Tony Fernandes surely hopes that Lion Air will lose its roar, but I hope it won't, since Lion Air is Indonesian! Good luck with those aircraft, Mr. Kirana! Lion roars!
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March 23, 2013
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