Airbus wins orders for 65 jets from two of Boeing's major Asian customers

TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) -Airbus won orders for 65 planes from two of Boeing's key Asian customers on Thursday, a major breakthrough for the European firm as its U.S. rival grapples with safety issues after a January mid-flight panel blowout on a 737 MAX 9 jet.

Japan Airlines (JAL) said it would buy 21 wide-body A350-900 and 11 A321neo narrow-body jets from Airbus, which will provide single-aisle jets to the long-time Boeing customer for the first time.

Japan's second-largest airline also said it would buy 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets. JAL has traditionally been a Boeing customer, although Airbus made its first sale to the airline in 2013 with A350 planes.

South Korea's largest carrier, Korean Air, also said on Thursday it would order 33 A350s in a deal valued at $13.7 billion - its first purchase of that aircraft family as it prepares for a merger with Asiana Airlines.

The purchases from Airbus come as Boeing is under heavy regulatory scrutiny following the Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines incident, with probes into the company's safety and quality standards in its production process.

The orders also make the two Asian airlines the latest to wade into a tightening market for long-haul aircraft after a prolonged downturn in demand for the industry's big jets.

Higher-efficiency jets are in high demand as international travel nears a full recovery from the pandemic and supply chain problems, leading to competition for planes as well as engine and maintenance contracts.

JAL said delivery was expected between financial years 2025 and 2033 and the order had a total catalogue price of about $12.39 billion.

It said an extra A350-900 would also be bought to replace one destroyed in a runway collision at Haneda airport in January.

JAL said it was ordering the more efficient, new-generation planes for its full-service and low-cost carrier operations now because of the global shortage of new planes, which is expected to persist.

Korean Air, which operates a mixed fleet of Boeing and Airbus wide- and narrow-body aircraft, said the order was for its long-term fleet planning as older aircraft retire and to meet sustainability goals.

Airbus says the A350s use 25% less fuel than similar older generation planes.

JAL added that a robust recovery in passenger demand helped lift its group net profit forecast to 90 billion yen ($596 million) for the financial year ending this month, up from 80 billion.

The new estimate tops an average forecast of 85.4 billion yen from 10 analysts, IBES data showed.

($1=150.9600 yen)

(Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Mariko Katsumura; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Potter)