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The official opening of the Paris Air Show on Monday saw announced orders for more than 200 aircraft with a list price above $20 billion, as airlines and leasing companies moved to secure new, more fuel-efficient planes.

The buoyant opening included a number of banner deals for aircraft and engine makers and predictions from industry officials that Airbus and Boeing Co. (BA) may garner twice as many orders and commitments than announced at the companion Farnborough Air Show last year.

Airbus led the order charge, as the updated version of its best-selling A320 family sealed multiple deals, with total orders for the type expected to surpass 600 by the end of the show.

The opening day also included two "mystery" deals--for the Boeing 747-8I and Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.T) CSeries. It is highly unusual for buyers not to be disclosed at the industry's premier trade show.

Leasing companies dominated the Farnborough event, and the largest order Monday came from industry leader GE Capital Aviation Services, or Gecas, a unit of General Electric Co. (GE). The world's largest aircraft lessor committed to acquire 60 A320neos worth $5.47 billion at list prices.

Typically, buyers can negotiate substantial discounts on large orders from plane manufacturers.

"The A320neo family will bring fuel savings to customers while offering the same levels of in-service reliability they expect," said Gecas President and Chief Executive Norman Liu. "We have a solid track record of placing A320s with customers around the globe."

Rival International Lease Finance Corp. ordered 100 of the planes earlier this year, and is expected to announce its engine choice for the rest of its commitments at the show this week, having opted to kit out some of the planes with the new offering from the Pratt & Whitney unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX).

Air Lease Corp. (AL), the lessor run by former ILFC chief Steve Udvar-Hazy, made its first order for wide-body aircraft as part of a 33-plane Boeing commitment that includes 737s, 777s and the forthcoming 787 Dreamliner.

The early sales success of the A320neo is seen putting pressure on Boeing to respond by revamping its competing 737 line-up with new engines rather than waiting until the end of the decade to introduce an all-new plane.

"Re-engining the Next-Generation 737 is technically viable and a real option for us," Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Jim Albaugh said. "What we are working on now is whether that's a good enough answer for the next decades in light of the rising cost of fuel and emerging environmental regulations."

Industry officials said one trigger would be if it loses a loyal customer to its European rival.

Scandinavian airline SAS AB (SAS.SK), which flies more than 70 737s, on Monday ordered 30 Airbus A320neos, with options for 11 more.

Gecas and SAS both selected Leap-X1A engines for their A320neos, bolstering the CFM International joint venture between GE and France's Safran SA (SAF.FR), which previously trailed far behind Pratt & Whitney in securing deals.

Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EAD.FR), in the days leading up to the show bagged orders for 72 A320neos from Indian budget carrier Go Airlines (India) Ltd. and for 30 A321neos, a stretched version of the A320, from Cebu Air Inc. (CEB.PH), the Philippines's largest budget carrier by sales. Together, those two orders were worth more than $10 billion.

The Toulouse, France, manufacturer now has more than 500 orders for re-engined versions of its A320 family. Deliveries are due to begin by the end of 2015.

Malaysian airline AirAsia Bhd (5099.KU) is also expected to announce a major order for A320neos during the air show, and other airlines are lining up, industry experts said.

The bullish tone from Airbus was tempered by the delay to some of its yet-to-fly A350 models--announced at the weekend--and technical problems that spoiled its flying displays.

The company was forced to borrow an A380 superjumbo from Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. (003490.SE) after the test aircraft flown in for the show snagged an airport building while taxiing Sunday, damaging a wing tip. It also had to pull its military transport carrier A400M out of displays because of an issue it identified during tests with its gearbox, although it did make a flypass.

Boeing's order for 17 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft was seen as a mixed blessing. The updated version of the original jumbo jet that features a new wing design and an upgraded flight deck previously secured only three airline customers. Industry watchers were surprised it didn't name the customers who placed orders for 15 and two planes, respectively, leading to speculation that the latest planned deals still remained in the balance.

Alongside leasing companies, Middle East carriers continued to place large orders. Qatar Airways said it would buy six additional Boeing 777-300 wide-body jets, as the airline continues its rapid growth. The deal, valued at $1.7 billion at list prices, had been previously booked by Boeing but the customer wasn't identified. Qatar already operates 25 long-range 777 aircraft.

In other deals, Bombardier said an unnamed "major network carrier" had placed a firm order for 10 CS100 jets, plus options for another six of the all-new single-aisle mainline commercial jet. The order would be worth up to $1.01 billion if all options are exercised.

Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA (ERJ, EMVRA3) said that three airlines and two leasing companies have ordered a total of 39 of its large regional jets worth up to $1.7 billion. Gecas also placed an order with regional turboprop aircraft maker ATR for 15 aircraft plus options for 15 more in a deal worth $680 million.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) said it concluded a contract worth up to $2.2 billion at engine list prices with TAM Airlines of Brazil, to provide Trent XWB engines for Airbus A350 XWB aircraft.

-By Kaveri Niththyananthan, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420 7842 9299; kaveri.niththyananthan@dowjones.com

--Caroline Van Hasselt and Gilles Castonguay contributed to this article.