FARNBOROUGH, England, 9 July 2012. European aircraft giant Airbus in Toulouse, France, ended the first day of the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England, with just four aircraft sales to report so far during the major European air show this week.

At close of business Monday, Airbus had reported a four-aircraft deal involving the sale of four Airbus A321neo next-generation narrow-body passenger jetliners to Arkia Israeli Airlines in Tel Aviv, Israel, the second largest Israeli airline.

The A321neo is part of the Airbus A320neo family of fuel-efficient single-aisle passenger aircraft, which will enter service in 2015. The A320neo family -- short for new engine option -- has fuel-efficient engines and wingtip sharklets to make the most of fuel efficiency.

The order Monday makes the airline a new Airbus customer and the first airline in Israel to order the A320neo Family. Engine selection will be announced at a later date.

The Arkia Israeli Airlines aircraft will be configured in a single all economy class seating 220 passengers. Arkia to operate the aircraft to destinations in the Middle East and Europe.

The four-aircraft order brings total aircraft orders and options in and around Farnborough to about 151 as of close of business Monday. By close of the first day of Farnborough, Boeing took 127 orders and options from Air Lease Corp. and Virgin Australia the 737 MAX aircraft; Bombardier took conditional orders for 15 CSeries narrow-body jetliners; and Embraer took orders for five E190 passenger jets.

For more information contact Airbus online at www.airbus.com, or the Farnborough International Airshow at www.farnborough.com. Also follow Military & Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Intelligence daily Farnborough show coverage online at www.militaryaerospace.com/farnborough-report.

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