Farnborough airshow ends with slim orders tally as Airbus overtakes Boeing

Airline bosses expect shortages to continue for at least two years amid jet delivery delays and supply chain bottlenecks

The British Red Arrows display team fly at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 22, 2024. REUTERS / Toby Melville

The number of commercial aircraft orders at the Farnborough International Airshow were relatively modest as the event drew to a close on Friday, compared with a rush of post-pandemic deals at the Paris Airshow last year.

Airbus overtook its arch-rival Boeing with a last-minute order from Saudi Arabian discount carrier Flynas on Thursday, which boosted the European aircraft manufacturer's total to 164 aircraft orders and commitments – pulling ahead of its US competitor who took 96 orders and commitments plus 22 options.

However, Airbus' order tally is significantly below the 846 orders it scored during the Paris Air Show in 2023, when major deals from Indian carriers swelled its total.

Boeing's order tally of 96 aircraft at Farnborough falls short of the 356 orders it won at the Paris Airshow in 2023.

Deals for wide-body jets dominated the airshow this year.

"Widebody orders were strong at Farnborough, tallying a total of 41 firm orders ($5.8 billion value) versus 18 a year ago at the Paris Airshow 2023 ($2.7 billion value) as manufacturers look to boost build rates and improve profits and margins," George Ferguson, senior aerospace analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said.

"Narrowbody orders placed at Farnborough struggled ... as Boeing and Airbus weren’t likely to make deals for jets which have plenty of backlog and the largest supply chain headaches."

Overall, Farnborough drew to a close with £81.5 billion ($104.9 billion) worth of deals agreed at the expo and 260 firm commercial aircraft orders, the event organisers said in a statement on Friday.

The Farnborough International Airshow 2024 - in pictures

Delegates look at the Global Combat Air Programme sixth-generation fighter jet concept design, bathed in the colours of the British flag, on day two of the Farnborough International Airshow. AFP

Visitors watch a Chinook helicopter land. AFP

The Wisk pavilion showcasing its air taxi. AP

The British Red Arrows display team fly at the Farnborough International Airshow in England. Reuters

Members of the armed forces pose next to a Royal Air Force Embarer C-390. AP

A visitor photographs the logo on the opening day. AFP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, centre, speaks to Guillaume Faury, right, Airbus chief executive, as he arrives at the annual event. PA

The Global Combat Air Programme sixth-generation fighter jet concept design. AFP

An AWHero drone displayed on the Leonardo SpA stand. Bloomberg

US military aircraft displayed on the opening day at Farnborough. AFP

Falconworks unmanned aerial vehicles are displayed at the BAE Systems stand. AFP

A Westland Sea King HU5 helicopter on display. Bloomberg

A Typhoon multirole combat aircraft on show. Bloomberg

A drone made by Airbus on a stand at Farnborough. Bloomberg

Global airline chiefs expressed frustration at ongoing jet delivery delays during Farnborough in the UK this week, with some projecting that the shortage of Boeing and Airbus aircraft will continue for at least two years, as supply chain snarls show no signs of easing.

Air India's chief executive Campbell Wilson pointed to problems at aircraft seat-making companies as one of the reasons behind a slower pace of jet deliveries, on top of the challenges faced by engine-makers, Airbus and Boeing.

"The things that can trip you up are maybe not the obvious ones. We all know about airframers and the challenges they face. We all know about some of the engine manufacturers and the challenges they face. But seat suppliers are another bottleneck, and in our case that's probably the principal bottleneck," he said, as the airline is in the middle of refurbishing its widebody fleet.

"Is it frustrating? Of course. Would we love to get more aircraft more quickly? Of course. Conversely, is it a bad thing? We are all on the same boat, we're all suffering. If one party was particularly advantaged and another party was particularly disadvantaged, I think it would be worse. At least we're in equal misery."

Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus' chief executive Guliz Ozturk said it is essential that plane makers provide airlines with "predictability" in the delivery schedule so they can better plan their route networks for the next year or two.

"It needs a closer collaboration, a closer information exchange so that we know what to expect," she said.

Boeing’s new head of commercial aircraft Stephanie Pope told a media briefing on Sunday that 737 Max production was improving and the company was undergoing "transformational change" in its safety and quality culture.

Emirates airline's boss Tim Clark said he was at Farnborough to talk to suppliers.

"I am a bit fed up," he said, noting he expects the first of the company's 205 Boeing 777X aircraft to enter service by 2026, extending delays on the programme that was supposed to debut about five years ago.

Lilium's aircraft takes centre stage at Farnborough air show

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Air taxis in strong showing

In other corners of the airshow, there was a lot of focus on electronic vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as a number of air taxi makers, including Embraer’s Eve, Joby and Boeing-backed Wisk, showed off their prototypes, while a few announced deals and new developments.

The Spanish eVTOL company Crisalion announced a pre-order deal with Dubai's Air Chateau for 10 of its 16-rota Integrity aircraft.

“The Middle East is a critical market for us, we have a strong presence there – lots of mobility things are happening there,” Oscar Lara, chief operating officer at Crisalion, said.

German aircraft maker Lilium had come to Farnborough directly off the back of striking a deal with the Saudi airline Saudia for 100 of its fanjet-powered eVTOLs. Lilium also has a deal with ArcosJet in Dubai.

“We have deals in the US, we have deals in China and in terms of customer profile, we have large-scale carrier like Azul in Brazil and we have highest class customers like Volare, which only transports ultra-high-net-worth individuals,” Klaus Roewe, chief executive of Lilium, said.

Meanwhile, UK eVTOL maker Vertical Aerospace said on Friday that its VX4 prototype successfully performed its first tethered piloted flight as it begins the “wheels up” phase of testing.

Sustainability debates

Sustainability was a major theme at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow, with several panel discussions on how the aviation sector can reach net-zero targets, given that much of the industry is often described as "hard-to-abate".

Several chief sustainability officers in the aerospace and defence industry said while carbon reduction strategies on the part of aircraft makers and airlines was very necessary, investment and development of carbon removal processes and technologies were essential.

“Aviation cannot reach net zero without carbon removals,” said Carrie Harris, director of sustainability at British Airways.

Professor Myles Allen at Oxford University agreed, adding that “anyone who is planning to continue to use fossil fuels beyond mid-century needs to have a plan for carbon removals”.