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

Farnborough airshow ends with slim orders tally as Airbus overtakes Boeing


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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

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.

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”.

THE BIO

Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain

Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude

Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE

Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally

Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science

Citizenship-by-investment programmes

United Kingdom

The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).

All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.

The Caribbean

Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport. 

Portugal

The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.

“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.

Greece

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.

Spain

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.

Cyprus

Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.

Malta

The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.

The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.

Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.

Egypt 

A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.

Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

HOSTS

T20 WORLD CUP 

2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland 

ODI WORLD CUP 

2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh 

CHAMPIONS TROPHY 

2025: Pakistan; 2029: India  

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Updated: July 27, 2024, 8:12 AM`