As trade week comes to an end and the displays turn to public eyes we look at back the highs and the lows, the winners and the losers of the Farnborough International Airshow 2018.
The week began with Qatar Airways stealing the show sending no less than 6 aircraft. The best middle-eastern airline* showed out its latest passenger aircraft including a Boeing 737 Max8 in Air Italy colours and an Airbus A350 and Boeing 777 to show off its award-winning Q-Suite Busines first cabin. Qatar Airways also showed off its latest executive aircraft, the Gulfstream G550 and a Jetsuite X Embraer E135.
Qatar Airways was also present in the Cargo Village which showcased one of its Boeing 747-8 Freighters alongside another 747-8 from Cargolux and a Volga-Dnepr Antonov 124.
Other key models on display included the Boeing 737 Max 7 and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Boeing and the very latest Airbus aircraft, the A220-300, A350-1000 and later in the week, a very special Airbus A380 from charter specialist Hi-Fly.
The orders came in thick and fast with both Airbus, Boeing and Embraer scoring big in the airliner stakes with over 1400 aircraft orders being received worth over $154bn
Boeing tallied orders for 673 commercial aircraft from 21 operators, worth $98.4 billion at list prices, but it’s worth remembering, no-one pays list prices. Boeing SVP-commercial sales and marketing Ihssane Mounir said: “Our record this week demonstrates how strong this market and how vibrant it is on both the services and airplane side”. The most popular aircraft was the 737 but Boeing also sold a large number of 777 Freighters.
Airbus sold 431 aircraft sales. The firm orders were for 93 aircraft and another 388 were ordered under a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Around 60 of the orders were for the new Airbus
Embraer took orders for 300 of its regional jet range including the latest E2 series. During the show, the Brazilian manufacturer showed off an E190-E2 in a special shark livery named “Profit Hunter”.
Engine manufacturers also did well with Rolls-Royce, GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney and others securing orders for over 1400 powerplants worth a combined $21.96bn. Both CFM and Pratt & Whitney said they were catching up on the delays which have hampered delivery of Airbus A320neo aircraft recently.
Speaking about this years show Farnborough International Chief Executive, Gareth Rogers, said: “Going into the show, the industry backlog is at a record high, in excess of 14,000 aircraft on the books. The major deals announced this week demonstrate how confident the aerospace industry is and the role of Farnborough as an economic barometer.
“This show brings the global aerospace world together for an intense but important week. Manufacturers, airlines, financiers, military and government representatives; they’re all here. Six months’ worth of meetings can take place in a week, it’s a highly productive place to be.
“The Farnborough International Airshow continues to be at the epicentre of the aerospace community and we look forward to growing this pivotal role over the next two years as we head towards the 2020 Airshow.”
*Skytrax
