DESPITE some initial setbacks, Airbus bagged billions of dollars of orders for its revamped A320 plane on the first day of a rain-sodden Paris Air Show.

The European manufacturer announced orders for 142 aircraft, valued at some $15bn, from four customers.

And officials revealed more deals and orders are to be announced today.

Most of the new orders came from leasing companies for the new fuel-efficient A320neo.

Gecas, the leasing arm of and financing arm of General Electric, ordered 60 of the planes, while Air Leasing Corp (ALC) ordered 36 more. ALC also ordered 11 A330s and an additional A321.

In another deal, Scandinavian airline SAS ordered 30 A320neos for its Copenhagen operation and Saudi airline Saudia ordered four more A330s.

Wings for all the aircraft are made in the company’s huge plant at Broughton, near Chester.

Announcing the deals, Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said airlines were replacing older, fuel-inefficient aircraft with the A320neo.

He said: “The neo stands for ‘new engine option’ for the A320 family entering service from 2015 and incorporates the latest generation engines and large wing tip devices, which together will bring 15% in fuel savings, the consumption of 1,000 mid-size cars in a year.

“This saves 3,600 tonnes of CO² per aircraft per year, the amount of CO² absorbed by 240,000 mature trees.

“But neo can also stand for new environmental obligations, which airlines are increasingly facing.

“Emissions from the neo aircraft are 50% lower than requirements, and it also has a considerably smaller noise footprint.”

Later, Airbus “borrowed” a Korean Air A380 to take part in the flying display, after a demonstrator damaged a wing tip on Sunday.

The damaged aircraft was hidden out of sight as President Nicolas Sarkozy inaugurated the show, and was a source of embarrassment for Airbus only hours after the arrival of its new competitor – Boeing’s enlarged 747-8, which is making its first overseas visit.