Farnborough opening bell Wednesday: 310 aircraft sold so far from four major aerospace manufacturers
FARNBOROUGH, England, 11 July 2012. Two of the four business days at the Farnborough International Airshow 2012 are in the books, and thus far four of the world's top aerospace manufacturers have taken orders and options for 310 aircraft, with the largest Farnborough deal coming Tuesday when Boeing took orders for 100 737 MAX and 737 800 aircraft.
No other blockbuster deals have been announced yet at Farnborough, which heightens expectations for Wednesday and Thursday, the remaining business days at the air show. Farnborough reserves Monday to Thursday for business transactions, and opens the show to the public Friday through Sunday. Nearly all aircraft sales happen the first four days of the show.
Boeing thus far leads all Farnborough aircraft sales with 247 as the show opens Wednesday morning. Following Boeing is Bombardier with 35 orders and options, Airbus with 15 firm orders, and then comes Embraer with 13 firm orders. Russian passenger jet manufacturer Sukhoi has been strangely quiet so far at Farnborough.
Boeing came into the show with 27 orders and options taken Friday for the new fuel-efficient 737 MAX single-aisle airliner from Virgin Australia. The company followed up those pre-show sales Monday with 60 orders for the 737 MAX 8 from Air Lease Corp. in Los Angeles; 15 orders for the 737 MAX 9 from Air Lease Corp.; and 25 737 MAX options from Air Lease.
On Tuesday Boeing added to its total with orders for 75 737 MAX and 25 737 800 aircraft to U.S. leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) in Stamford, Conn., and 20 737 MAX aircraft to Kuwait airplane leasing company ALAFCO.
Next is Bombardier Aerospace in Montreal, which came into the show with 15 conditional orders Sunday for the company's CSeries single-aisle passenger jets. Bombardier followed that up on Tuesday with 10 orders and 10 options for the company's CSeries regional jets.
In third place is Airbus, which had been the leader of last summer's Paris Air Show aircraft sales competition, with 15 aircraft orders. On Monday Airbus took orders for four of the company's new fuel-efficient A320neo single-aisle passenger jets from Arikas Israeli Airlines.
On Tuesday Airbus took an order for one A319 single-aisle passenger jet with Sharklet wingtips from Drukair, and for 10 A350 1000 long-range widebody passenger jets from Cathay Pacific. No one expects Airbus to remain this quiet for the entire Farnborough Airshow.
In fourth place is Embraer with 13 aircraft orders. On Monday Embraer took orders for five of the company's Embraer 190 regional jets, and on Tuesday Embraer took orders for eight of the company's A-29 Super Tucano high-performance military turboprop aircraft for light-attack and training missions.
As the show opens today, more aircraft orders are expected.
For more information contact the Farnborough International Airshow online at www.farnborough.com. Also follow Military & Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Intelligence daily Farnborough show coverage online at www.militaryaerospace.com/farnborough-report.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.