Why defense and Airbus dominated this year’s Paris Air Show

Airbus won the orders game at an unusual Paris Air Show, overshadowed by geopolitical tensions and last Thursday’s Air India plane crash.

Boeing chose not to announce any orders and kept a low profile. The sense of mourning was palpable inside the company’s chalet. All staff wore Air India pin badges to commemorate Flight 171.

“This show definitely has a very different tone for us in the Boeing company,” said Turbo Sjogren, senior vice-president for government services, as he began its first media briefing on Tuesday.

“When you go into our chalet, when you go into our exhibit, you will see not only flowers, but you will see all Boeing employees wearing this,” he added, pointing to his pin. “It’s been a very tough time for us, and it affects all of our employees.”

Both CEO Kelly Ortberg and the chief of its commercial airplanes division, Stephanie Pope, canceled their plans to attend the show.

Even as Airbus announced order after order, airline and lessor CEOs began signing ceremonies by expressing sympathy for the victims in Ahmedabad.

The European planemaker tallied 142 firm commercial aircraft orders, including 25 A350-1000s from Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air. Additionally, Vietnam’s VietJet signed an agreement to buy 100 A321neos.

Embraer also scored big, as regional airline SkyWest ordered 60 E175 jets in a deal the Brazilian firm valued at $3.6 billion.

With 2,500 exhibitors from 48 countries, the global nature of aviation was tangible at Le Bourget Airport — where Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St Louis after his historic transatlantic flight in 1927.

However, geopolitical tensions bubbled over amid the conflicts in Gaza and between Israel and Iran.

Five Israeli defense companies arrived on Monday to find organizers had blocked off their stands overnight with large black walls.

The French government had ordered them to remove offensive weapons from their pavilions, but they declined to do so, Israel’s ministry of defense said in a statement.

“They’re saying that they would discuss it with us and see what goes out, but when we came here this morning, it was unilaterally done,” Shlomo Toaff, an executive vice president at Rafael, told reporters.

Business Insider saw half a dozen police officers gathered by the pavilions on Monday morning, and two officers standing guard throughout the week.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou said the decision was made given “extreme tensions” in the region and “France’s diplomatic choices, in particular the very great concern about Gaza.”

Meanwhile, the F-35 appeared to be the most popular aircraft of the flying displays. Nearly everyone on the tarmac stopped, phones pointed skyward, below the deafening roar of the fighter jet that Israel has used to bomb Gaza and Tehran.

Compared to past major shows, it was a salient reminder of an increasingly troubled world.

Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer also pulled out of the air show at the last minute.

In a video message after the airline was named the world’s top carrier for the ninth time, he said he flew home from Paris on Monday, “to focus on our operational responsibilities due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.”

“It feels incredibly strange not to be there,” Al-Meer added. “In over a decade with our airline and airport, I’ve never missed a Skytrax ceremony.”

Growing conflicts and President Donald Trump‘s policies have prompted European countries to increase their defense spending and seek more autonomy over military programs.

About 45% of the Paris Air Show was dedicated to defense and security, a “strong increase” from 2023, organisers said. The event is typically far more focused on civil aviation, especially compared to the UK’s defense-leaning Farnborough Air Show, with which it alternates each year.

While there were reasons for industry figures to feel despondent this week, the sector is starting to move on from recent troubles.

At last year’s Farnborough show and Paris the year before, the main theme was recovering from the pandemic. Passenger numbers have now eclipsed 2019 levels, and while the supply chain is still struggling, constraints are easing.

“There is renewed optimism around the ability to restore capacity,” said Chad Stecker of Incora, a supply chain solutions provider for aerospace and defense firms.

“We’re not out yet, I would say,” he told BI. “But there’s really a life at this show, a renewed life, and optimism around where we’re headed.”

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