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The 55th Paris Airshow: It won’t be remembered for airliner sales.

Airbus A350-100 gets airborne at the 55th Paris International Airshow (Image: UK Aviation Media)

Airbus A350-100 gets airborne at the 55th Paris International Airshow (Image: UK Aviation Media)

With there closing of the trading week of the 55th Paris Airshow the mood regarding sales of new airlines was subdued, large due to the current global climate but for one OEM, it was also due to recent events.

In light of the Air India Boeing 787 crash, Boeing opted not to disclose any orders during the show so in terms of sales, there are rumours but no actual sales to confirm.

So how did the OEMs do?

European OEM Airbus had the best show once again with a total of $21 billion worth of sales being racked up. This included 242 new airlines with Starlux, Vietjet, ANA, Ajet and Ryadh Air being amongst the customers.

The A350F was given a show of confidence with AviLease and MNG Airlines both signing for the as yet uncertified freighter.

Airbus also gained new customers in the form of Polish LOT airlines who signed up for 40 Airbus A220 jets to replace their Embraer regional jet fleet.

As previously mentioned, US giant Boeing has a muted Paris Airshow with much of its business taking place behind closed doors and no orders being disclosed.

Brazilian OEM Embraer came runner up to Airbus in terms of sales with South African Airlink and the world’s largest Embraer Owner Operator Skywest both committing to the new aircraft. Airlink opted for 10 E195-E2 aircraft to boost its fleet and expand its network while SkyWest bagged 60 E175s.

DeHavilland Canada also unveiled its Twin Otter Classic 300-G which saw two aircraft being sold to Ethiopian Airlines to boost its remote connectivity network, the aircraft will also be equipped with floats to serve the many lakeside communities in the region. A third 300-G was also sold to the US Department of Defence (DoD) for military use.

Green aerospace is becoming more and more of a key market in global aviation (Image: UK Aviation Media)

What were the other big stories?

eVTOLs have become a prominent force at airshows and at Paris, Embraer backed Eve Air Mobility signed agreements for its Urban Air Mobility (UAM) product totalling over 100 units. These are seen in two key areas. One being for door to door urban transport and the second by airlines, for door to plane services.

Of course, none of these aircraft are in service yet but the reality of eVTOL aircraft being in daily use in our skies is more months away than years.

Another big focus of this years show was green aerospace which is why the UK Government took the opportunity to announce £250 million in funding for green aviation projects through the Aerospace Technology Institute.

The money will be used to fund projects aimed at reducing the carbon emissions of aviation which is a growing market in the UK economy.

Onwards to Farnborough 2026

Looking ahead to next year when the focus moves to the Farnborough International Airshow, which takes place from the 20th to the 24th July 2024, and the aerospace industry will be hoping that the global economy is in a much better position.

Whilst aerospace, and particularly the airline industry, is still very much a growing market, confidence in laying down billions of dollars is still relatively low when the markets are unstable and the focus us at these events is certainly moving towards emergening markets such as eVTOLs and green aerospace.

That said however, airliner sales will remain the key driver of trade at these events for many years to come with the big OEMs still battling it out to get the signatures on their contracts.

So for now we say farewell Paris, see you in 2027.

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