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The Deals and Displays at Farnborough

The Farnborough International Airshow has been a key industry event on the global air show merry-go-round for more than seven decades. Whether you are an aircraft manufacturer or supplier looking to showcase your latest wares, or an industry executive seeking to network with peers or get up close and personal to the “metal,” the venue, an hour outside London, has been the place to go since 1948.

The same was largely true this year, even if the volume of new commercial aircraft business announced was down on previous shows — hardly surprising given the current state of the order backlogs that now extend out into the 2030s for many types.

This year’s show had around 1,200 exhibitors, while upwards of 70,000 trade visitors were expected through the doors during the five-day exhibition. But those who ventured from the exhibition halls down toward the runway this year were greeted by a noticeable lack of heavy metal to inspect.

After the 777-9 and 737-10 MAX were on display at Farnborough two years ago (and also the Paris Air Show last year), Boeing commercial aircraft were effectively absent this year, as the OEM focused on its recovery plan and completing some long-overdue certification programs. This made for a somewhat depleted static aircraft park and flying display, creating a slightly subdued atmosphere for those who enjoy the spectacle of seeing big jets being heaved around the skies.

The Aircraft on Display

Airbus and Embraer helped to increase the show’s asset count, exhibiting a good selection of their current lineups. The newly certificated A321XLR (or A321-200NY, to use its official designation!) was one of the stars of the flying display, with Airbus’s CFM-powered test aircraft being put through its paces above Farnborough each day. Among the other Airbus exhibits were a colorful Air India A350-900, a British Airways A320neo and a Virgin Atlantic A330-900 proudly displaying a celebratory scheme to mark the carrier’s 40th birthday this year. The Rolls-Royce Trent-powered twinjet also played host to Virgin’s press conference, where CEO Shai Weiss was joined by Airbus Commercial CEO Christian Scherer to announce an additional order for seven of the jets.

Airbus’s smallest airliner, the A220, was one of two Pratt & Whitney PW1000G-powered aircraft on display. The JetBlue A220-300 was parked adjacent to its Embraer rival, the E195-E2. This aircraft was adorned in one of the Brazilian OEM’s usual eye-catching “Profit Hunter” liveries, adding some glitz to the flying schedule.

The newly certificated E-Jet converted freighter was making its show debut, and the OEM was keen to show off its large side cargo door and explain its interline capability with belly cargo pallets from widebodies. Airbus and Embraer also had their military airlifters on show — respectively, an A400M of the Royal Air Force and a C-390 demonstrator. Airbus’s regional aircraft joint venture with Leonardo exhibited the ATR 72-600 in the flying display.

Air show regular Qatar Airways brought some Boeing commercial aircraft flavor to the static park, displaying a 787-9 that featured the airline’s Adient Ascent business class suite. The Middle East network carrier used Farnborough as the springboard for its QSuite Next Gen seat launch, with a “takeover” of the entrance in the main hall displaying the new cabin premium product. The all-new seat, which will replace the airline’s highly regarded Collins Aerospace-designed Qsuite, will debut on the new 777-9s in 2026. It has been developed in partnership with Adient Aerospace, said Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer: “Our team … decided to raise the benchmark once again.”

A Snapshot of Order Announcements and Commitments

Boeing revealed Qatar Airways as the previously unidentified customer for 20 777-9s originally ordered in March. Al Meer disclosed during a media brief that the airline issued a tender in March for a significant number of widebodies, with an order commitment not expected until early next year.

Cirium data shows that, overall, some 260 new orders and order commitments were disclosed for commercial aircraft during the week. This was among the lowest volume of business for any Farnborough show, which Cirium Ascend estimates had a combined value of close to US$26 billion (in Base Full-Life Value terms).

Airbus and Boeing accounted for the vast majority of the show announcements (245 aircraft), with the remaining 15 being for regional turboprops (ATR and De Havilland Aircraft). Two-thirds (164) of the mainline aircraft orders and commitments were on the Airbus books.

There was a relatively high volume of widebody announcements during the week, with total orders and commitments for twin-aisles (including freighters) edging single-aisles from 126 to 119. Total twin-aisle orders and commitments were worth US$18.8 billion, versus US$7 billion for the single-aisles.

The emphasis this year on the twin-aisle market is unsurprising, given the excessively long lead times that now exist across the single-aisle production lines. The industry has been relatively under-ordered on twin-aisles post-COVID, but backlogs are now beginning to extend out toward the end of the decade.

Together, Airbus and Boeing disclosed 91 new firm orders along with 154 commitments to order. Boeing closed on its rival in value terms (44%) thanks to its relatively high proportion of twin-aisle/freighter announcements.

The biggest show announcement in terms of total units came from Saudi low-cost operator Flynas, which disclosed commitments for 90 aircraft: 75 A320neo family aircraft and 15 A330-900s. Emirates was the only other airline from the region to announce new business (given that Qatar’s was an existing contract), with a firm order for five 777Fs.

Announcements from Asia-Pacific operators came to 106 orders from four operators, representing the largest portion (43%) of show deals by unit. These included Japan Airlines (11 A321neos, 20 A350s and 10 787s), Korean Air (20 777-9s and 20 787s), VietJet Air (20 A330-900s) and Drukair (five A320neo family aircraft).

The Virgin order for seven A330-900s was one of just two European announcements, the other being Luxair for two 737-10s. Just one U.S. customer deal was announced: a commitment for four 777Fs from Miami-based National Airlines. Abra Group — parent of Gol and Avianca — was the sole Latin American announcement: a commitment for five A350s. In Africa, Berniq Airways of Libya placed orders for six A320neo family.

There was none of the traditional flurry of leasing company announcements — an order for 20 737-8s from Macquarie AirFinance being the only lessor disclosure. Embraer was absent in terms of commercial order show announcements (although it did receive orders from the Netherlands and Austria for the C-390). The Brazilian OEM’s commercial division’s CEO, Arjan Meijer, stated during the show that despite the radio silence, various deals for at least 300 aircraft are currently under negotiation.

Novel Exhibits

There were lots of interesting innovations for visitors to peruse around the exhibition halls. And while there wasn’t a 777-9 present at the show, Liebherr had a fully working mock-up of Boeing’s new huge folding wingtip assembly on its stand, running through its deployment/retraction sequence every 60 seconds.

The emerging eVTOL market is moving closer to reality, but there is still no hardware for the Farnborough flying display. Exhibitors included Eve Air Mobility (from Embraer), Joby Aviation, Lilium Air Mobility, Hyundai-owned Supernal, Vertical Aerospace and Wisk Aero, with some displaying full-scale mock-ups. Several military aircraft wowed the crowds each day in the flying display, with participants as disparate as a decades-old U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber to the latest F-15 Eagle variant, the QA (Qatar Advanced).

British Airways had a novel exhibit close to the static park where visitors had the opportunity to land an A350 simulator under instruction from one of the airline’s captains. It is perhaps no coincidence that the airline is searching for its next generation of pilots!

Ancillary Events

The air show week was flanked by a series of conferences and events both on-site and in central London. A Farnborough conference highlight was the Airline Leaders Summit panel discussion comprising Campbell Wilson, Guliz Ozturk and Luis Gallego, CEOs of Air India, Pegasus Airlines, and International Airlines Group, respectively.

Sustainability was a big talking point as usual, and ISTAT and Impact both ran half-day conference sessions in central London. Declaring “it's our job to decarbonize aviation,” Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury disclosed a co-operation agreement with airports association ACI World in a move designed to strengthen efforts to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. Toulouse also announced an investment in sustainable aviation fuel producer LanzaJet, supporting the U.S. company’s alcohol-to-jet fuel project toward production at scale. Boeing unveiled a partnership with U.K. investment firm Clear Sky, which is focused on companies seeking to reduce environmental costs associated with flying. The initial agreement will see Boeing working with SAF producer Firefly Green Sky to support the development of a U.K. refinery.

There were further moves toward new propulsion technology during the show, with European charter and cargo operator ASL Aviation signing an agreement with ZeroAvia for up to 20 of its ZA2000 zero-emission hydrogen-electric power units for potential retrofit onto ATR freighters. The Anglo-American technology company has also teamed with KLM, with the aim of making a demonstration flight in 2026.

So as the curtain came down on the 45th Farnborough International Airshow, visitors were left wondering what the industry might look like by the time the 46th show opens on 20 July 2026. Will the OEMs have made good progress in resolving the extensive supply chain issues? Will Boeing have completed its various commercial aircraft certifications? And will the industry be on a solid trajectory toward its target of net zero by 2050? Stay tuned!

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