If commercial aircraft orders are an indication that the sector is well on the road to post-pandemic recovery then the Paris Air Show 2023 will be regarded as the moment things finally turned a corner. A succession of announcements, orders and new partnerships by airline companies flooded the global aviation media. From day one, Airbus was keen to dominate the event, which it did with the announcement of three massive orders. Most noteworthy was 500 A320s for Indian airline Indigo, which the OEM quickly pointed out was the largest single purchase in commercial aviation history. This was followed rapidly by Saudi Arabian airline flynas placing an order for 30 A320neos and Air Mauritius ordering a trio of A350-900s to increase its European and South Asia network. Airbus followed its first-day order announcement with another success the following day, as Qantas Group finalised its incremental contract for nine A220-300s. This brings the operator's order for the single-aisle aircraft to 29. The announcement ended speculation dating back to February, when Qantas had hinted that another order for A220s was likely. With the first A220 due to arrive at the end of this year, it will significantly upgrade the airline's domestic route network.
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