Air Show offers further good news for jet manufacturer Airbus

Berniq Airways, Libya’s airline, has placed a firm order with aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, for six A320neo Family aircraft.
The airline already operates six A320s and intends to further develop its regional and international routes with the additional A320neo family aircraft.
The deal was signed at the Farnborough Air Show, which is currently under way, where the company had already clinched orders for 43 new aircraft ahead of the Berniq Airways announcement
Airbus has major plants in Broughton, near Chester, where it employs 5,000 staff making wings for its commercial aircraft, and Filton, in Bristol, where the workforce numbers 3,000 staff..
Waseem Ezzway, Chairman of Berniq Airways said: “We are proud to be the first airline in Libya to order the advanced A320neo family aircraft. This significant investment marks a new chapter for Berniq Airways as we continue to lead the way in modernising our fleet and enhancing our service offerings.”
Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Executive Vice President Sales of the Airbus Commercial Aircraft business, said: “It is a pleasure to see Berniq Airways expanding its fleet with the world’s best-in-class single-aisle aircraft.
“The A320neo family will enable Berniq Airways to provide its customers with unparalleled comfort while offering the airline exceptional economic advantages.”
Airbus also revealed more environmentally-friendly collaborations at the air show, following news earlier this week that is has co-invested in a $200m SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel ) financing fund to accelerate production of the fuel.
Today, it announced it is investing in LanzaJet, a sustainable fuels technology company and producer, in line with its ambition to act as a catalyst for the global development of sustainable aviation fuels.
This investment will support the development of the Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) pathway, an important step required to produce SAF at scale by enabling LanzaJet to further expand its capability and capacity to scale its proprietary Ethanol to SAF process technology.
Julie Kitcher, Chief Sustainability Officer at Airbus, said: “Sustainable aviation fuels are one of the most important levers available to decarbonise aviation, but their production is still limited.
“Our partnership with LanzaJet demonstrates Airbus’s commitment to work with leading energy technology suppliers to explore innovative production pathways and scale SAF.”
She added: “This important partnership with LanzaJet underlines the importance of new technologies and cross-sector collaboration to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.”
Jimmy Samartzis, LanzaJet Chief Executive, said: “LanzaJet intentionally developed a diverse portfolio of strategic investors consisting of leading, global companies to ensure we have the ecosystem to scale the SAF industry. This important investment from Airbus supports the growth of our company, enabling LanzaJet to scale the production and deployment of SAF to continue working towards meeting aviation’s decarbonisation goals and developing a more sustainable industry.”
LanzaJet’s technology uses low-carbon ethanol to create SAF that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70% compared with fossil fuels on a lifecycle basis and can further decrease emissions with a suite of carbon reduction technologies.
The company is currently starting up the world’s first commercial-scale production of ethanol-to-SAF at LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels in the US.
Avolon ZEROe Project
Airbus also announced a new partnership with aircraft lessor, Avolon, to study the potential of hydrogen-powered aircraft, marking the very first collaboration of the ZEROe Project with an operating lessor.
Airbus and Avolon will investigate how future hydrogen-powered aircraft could be financed and commercialised, and how they might be supported by the leasing business model.
Airbus is putting significant resources into exploring how the industry can introduce hydrogen-powered aircraft and how it works on the ground with airports and airlines. The development of a viable hydrogen ecosystem is a key enabler of the industry’s goal to reach near zero emissions.
Paul Geaney, President and Chief Commercial Officer, Avolon, said: “Joining the ZEROe Project is another step in Avolon’s sustainability journey and we look forward to building on our long standing partnership with Airbus to consider how the next generation of aircraft will be financed and commercialised.
“It will take a wide ecosystem of contributors to overcome the challenges of hydrogen-powered commercial flight, and Airbus is playing a crucial role in bringing partners together. While we continue to focus on supporting our customers in modernising their fleets with lower emissions aircraft, it is also vital we look beyond that at what can further drive our industry’s decarbonisation.”
Airbus Vice President ZEROe Project, Glenn Llewellyn, said: “There is real value in bringing together industry players to help solve the challenges facing aviation. We know we can’t solve decarbonisation alone and welcome Avolon’s expertise and worldwide leadership in the aircraft leasing business. Working together to consider how the transition can be commercialised and financed for airline customers is crucial to success.”