Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice President Ihssane Mounir, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Kevin McAllister, Korean Air CEO Walter Cho and Air Lease corporation CEO John Plueger pose with models of Boeing 787 Dreamliner at a commercial announcement during the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France June 18, 2019. Pascal Rossignol | Reuters

Airbus and Boeing bagged a combined $15 billion of plane deals on day two of the Paris Airshow, as their sales teams scrambled for orders after a downturn in business at many airlines and the grounding of Boeing's top-selling jet. Airbus extended its early lead in orders at the event with a $6 billion deal on Tuesday to sell 36 planes to Philippines airline Cebu Air, including 10 of the new long-range A321XLR model launched on Monday. The European planemaker also struck a deal to sell a further 30 A320neo aircraft to Saudi Arabian Airlines, worth $3.3 billion at list prices, while Malaysia's AirAsia converted 253 A320neo orders to the larger A321neo model. Financial terms of the AirAsia deal were not disclosed.

Airbus shares were up 0.6% at 1100 GMT, having touched a record high of 126.50 euros in early trade. Boeing, meanwhile, gained a much needed lift after a slow start to the show on Monday as Korean Air committed to buying 20 of the U.S. planemaker's 787 Dreamliners, worth $6.3 billion at list prices. Despite the flurry of activity, dealmaking at the aerospace industry's biggest annual event has been quieter than normal, fuelling speculation that a decade-long boom might be coming to an end. With airlines struggling to contend with overcapacity, slowing economies and geopolitical tensions, some analysts warn that Airbus and Boeing could face a growing number of cancellations from their bulging order books. Boeing in particular is suffering after the grounding of its MAX 737 aircraft in March following two deadly crashes.

A321XLR takes off

However, the planemakers are confident of continued strong demand for more fuel-efficient jets as emissions regulations tighten and air travel continues to rise, driven by Asia's growing middle classes. Boeing on Monday increased its 20-year industry demand forecast.

"Although investors have started to ask questions about the state of the upcycle, the aerospace industry remains very confident in the current state of the market," analysts at Vertical Research Partners said in a note. Sources familiar with the matter say that American Airlines and leasing giant GECAS are also in talks to buy Airbus's new A321XLR, which is aimed at new routes for airlines with smaller planes, stealing a march on Boeing's plans for a potential planned NMA mid-market jet. As well as 10 Airbus A321XLR jets, Cebu Air said it was buying 16 larger A330neo planes and five of A320neo model. Finance chief Andrew Huang told a news conference the A330neo jets would have up to 460 seats, allowing the budget airline to add new international routes.

Airbus A321XLR Soruce: Airbus