Sales of new airliners at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 (FIA) were at their lowest in over a decade with a total of 286 aircraft receiving orders during this year’s event.
By comparison the shows in 2022, 2018. 2016 and 2014 saw 441,1464, 742, and 1210 sales respectively.
Airbus came out on top this year with a late surge on day 4 with orders from Flynas and Abra Group pushing them to a total of 164 aircraft when taking into account firm orders and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) orders.
Boeing totalled 118 aircraft with orders for the 787 Dreamliner leading the way but also sales for the 737 Max, 777-9 and 777 Freighters hitting the books.
ATR also sold four ATR72 regional turboprops.
The lower-than-normal sales aren’t entirely unexpected though. The current backlog for airliners is at its highest ever globally, around 15,812 and delays in deliveries have caused some airlines to hold off orders.
The current global economic climate is also hitting the airline industry as are the effects of wars in Ukraine and Israel.
The forecast though is still strong, with air travel almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels across the globe and in some regions such as Asia, even exceeding pre-covid levels and it has to be remembered that not all deals are done at airshows.
Both Boeing and Airbus have had strong sales outside of the events with Boeing reporting sales of 156 and Airbus 327 for 2024 ahead of FIA.
