Jetrader

The French Connection

The 2025 International Paris Air Show took place on 14-20 June, where some 141,000 trade visitors trekked in the sweltering summer sun around the Le Bourget chalets, halls and static aircraft display. This year’s event marked the 55th edition of the show (and 19th consecutive show for me), since the first “salon de la locomotion aérienne” in 1909 at the Grand Palais in central Paris. Le Bourget became the show’s venue in 1953. In 2025, some 2,400 exhibitors from 48 countries participated, 46% of whom were French.

A Measured Paris Performance From Airbus and Boeing

It was no surprise that “local OEM” Airbus made the most noise again, announcing some 400 orders and commitments during the show. Boeing, which has traditionally played down its participation in the so-called air show “order race,” was intentionally quiet this time amid the Air India 787 tragedy, which had occurred just before Le Bourget. Despite Boeing’s low-key approach, total announcements at the show for commercial aircraft amounted to over 550 orders and commitments.

The biggest show announcement in unit terms came from Airbus, which inked a deal with VietJet Air for up to 150 A321neos, although the commitment is initially just a letter of intent. Cirium estimates that the delivery of these aircraft will extend right through to the end of the next decade, by which time Airbus has indicated its next-generation single-aisle could already be in production.

Next-Generation Aircraft and Powerplant Innovation

The rhetoric around Toulouse’s proposed A320neo successor has been building in 2025, so there was plenty of interest at the show in a potential front-runner to power the aircraft: the CFM RISE advanced gas turbine. A mock-up of this open-fan design, which dominated the Safran stand in the main exhibition hall, certainly drew the crowds.

Airbus seems to be eager to press on with its new single-aisle plans, according to its head of future programs, Bruno Fichefeux, who spoke to the media during the show: “By the end of this decade, we want to be launch-ready,” he said. “We need to go from technology exploration to finetuning a concept to prepare the launch and push the button.” Service-entry is currently targeted for the second half of the 2030s.

The open-fan architecture of RISE is one of the configurations under evaluation by Airbus alongside advanced shrouded-fan concepts. To that point, Pratt & Whitney outlined its progress with fellow RTX company Collins to ground-test and then fly a hybrid-electric version of the A320neo’s PW1100G (although many current operators would probably prefer East Hartford focused on fully resolving the current engine issues first!).

Meanwhile, the P&W Canada division disclosed at the show that it is working closely with Airbus’s regional arm ATR to study a hybrid-electric-powered turboprop derivative, in what is effectively a reboot of the regional aircraft OEM’s Evo project. This reduced-emissions design derived from the current ATR family had previously been slated for a 2030 debut, but the target now is around 2035.

The A350-1000 was one of the highlights of the flying display, and the Airbus big jet was also making the news in show order stories. Airbus announced a total of 35 orders and 25 commitments for the -1000 from two clients: Riyadh Air and Starlux Airlines. Sales of the largest A350 variant have been solid this year to date, with the 62 announced so far accounting for two-thirds of the type’s 2025 tally.

The variant now holds almost 40% of the firm backlog for A350 passenger models, which totals 700 orders. Talk of an A350 stretch has restarted, after previously being mooted a decade ago as the “A350-2000.” A larger derivative of the R-R Trent XWB-powered twinjet, which would pitch Airbus’s biggest aircraft directly at the 777-9, could open the door to an alternative engine option. This could perhaps be an advanced derivative of the Trent, or even a solution from Cincinnati. But would GE have the appetite to support a rival to the GE9X-powered Boeing?

Despite deliveries being around 6% down year-on-year so far in 2025, Airbus restated its intention to raise shipments this year by around 50 aircraft to at least 820 units. Commercial CEO Christian Scherer pointed to “almost 40 gliders” among the A320neo family production system, where aircraft have been rolled out but are awaiting powerplants, specifically CFM LEAP-1As. “Were it not for those engineless aircraft, our delivery performance would be slightly above plan right now,” he said. In the widebody production system, cabin equipment supply “remains a little bit of a bottleneck,” added Scherer. Meanwhile, the OEM is gearing up to implement the takeover of former Spirit AeroSystems production sites as part of the U.S. primary supplier’s restructuring and merger with Boeing.

Although Boeing senior management forewent the show amid the Air India tragedy, there were several of the U.S. manufacturer’s heavyweight jets on static display, namely a 787-9 and a 777-300ER. The latter was adorned in a special Qatar Airways livery celebrating its sponsorship of the football team Paris Saint-Germain FC, while the Dreamliner was one of two aircraft exhibited in the colors of Riyadh Air. Airbus applied the Saudi carrier’s livery to one of its A321XLR test aircraft as a nod to the airline’s 2024 order for 60 of the single-aisles. Although it had yet to confirm a firm launch date at the time of the show, the airline made sure its brand was highly visible at Le Bourget, with even Riyadh Air-branded Lucid Motors luxury EVs to be seen plying the chalet service roads. The latest Emirates A350-900 displayed in the Airbus static park rounded out the Middle East carriers’ Paris show presence this year.

Regional Aircraft and Emerging Market Dynamics

There were almost 160 orders and commitments announced for regional aircraft at the show by ATR and Embraer. U.S.-based public charter operator JSX placed commitments with ATR for 15 firm and 10 options in a deal touted as a potential signal of a turboprop revival in the U.S. But there have already been several false dawns in that regard.

“We really want to test and prove that the ATR is the most suited to restore that connectivity and provide more accessible travel to those who cannot afford flying private in the U.S.,” said Alexis Vidal, chief commercial officer at ATR.

Meanwhile, Embraer’s ongoing success with its “old-school” E175 was underlined by a deal from SkyWest Airlines for up to 110 aircraft. The OEM has secured 150 orders since the start of last year for the GE CF34-powered variant and said it expected this market would “continue for many years.”

But Embraer was extremely disappointed to lose out to Airbus in a crucial campaign at LOT for small single-aisles, which signed up for to 84 A220s to replace its E-Jet E1s. The Brazilian OEM, which hinted that “geopolitics” may have helped sway the decision in Toulouse’s favor, was smiling just two weeks post-Paris when it landed a significant order from SAS for 45 E195 E2s and 10 options. Bridges Air Cargo was revealed by Embraer as launch operator for the E-Freighter cargo-converted E190-E1. The Malta-based carrier was due to take its first E190F by the end of Q3 2025, via U.S. lessor Regional One, which doubled its commitments for the cargo variant to four aircraft.

China’s Comac had an impressive lineup of future aircraft models on its stand in a statement of intent around its ambitions to develop families of regional, single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft. This was a display reminiscent of early Airbus air show exhibits back in the 1970s when it could only muster the A300B in full-scale format. Given that deliveries of the C919 twinjet are now well into double figures, it was disappointing not to see any real hardware on display at Le Bourget — perhaps next time?

An interesting new regional airliner concept from Dutch company Maeve Aerospace was in the news, with details of plans to collaborate with Japan Airlines being disclosed. The proposed 80-90-seat Maeve Jet has aft-mounted hybrid-electric P&W Canada open-rotor power units and could offer a range of up to 1,400nm. JAL will support the project by helping to optimize the aircraft’s specifications. Maeve is aiming for a first flight in 2030 with service entry following in 2033.

Another advanced airliner designer, Elysian Aircraft, is revamping its E9X battery-powered airliner concept, first revealed in 2024. As initially proposed, this 90-seater would have a range of up to 430nm (800km). Spanish aerostructures specialist Aernnova has been contracted to undertake early wing development studies. Powered by eight 1.3MW electric motors, Elysian aims to fly the EX9 prototype in 2030 and deliver the first aircraft around three years after.

Electric Aviation and the Road to Urban Air Mobility

Urban air mobility was again a big show talking point, but most participants were still present in mock-up form only. During the show, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy outlined how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had partnered with regulators from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. to work together on certification of electric air taxis.

“We have a roadmap to move forward with our partners, to have that common platform, which is going to provide a bigger market share and faster deployment of new technology,” Duffy said.

Beta Technologies was the one UAM exhibitor that participated in the flying display, demonstrating its electric-powered, CTOL Alia CX300 variant.

This fixed-wing design is due for FAA certification in 2025, with approval of the A250 eVTOL variant expected to follow next year. Beta revealed that Republic Airways will use a CX300 to train its pilots, in what could be a precursor to a larger deal.

The progress of other eVTOL players could only be evidenced by viewing their full-scale mock-ups. These included Wisk Aero’s Generation 6 four-seater and the six-seater from Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility. Both companies claimed their first test flights were imminent.

As the air show circus packed up and headed off from another successful Le Bourget event, there was much industry uncertainty being created by global trade disputes and geopolitical unrest, leaving many wondering how it could all play out. There might be more clarity when the circus next stops in November at Dubai, or perhaps not!

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