Farnborough International Airshow 2016 Defies Industry Expectations

The 5-day trade component of last week’s Farnborough International Airshow recorded orders and options to the value of US$123.9 billion, defying industry expectations.

Farnborough International’s internal order tracker recorded a total of 856 aircraft valued at US$93.98, 1407 engines valued at US$22.7 billion and a variety of other business deals totalling £7.2 billion.

As the trade day drew to a close, the Farnborough International Airshow welcomed over 6,000 young people to the show for its STEM outreach programme Futures Day. Star of the show was Tim Peake who opened proceedings in his first public appearance since returning from the ISS four weeks ago.

Starting proceedings on a high, the global aerospace trade event was opened by former Prime Minister David Cameron, MP and Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson who welcomed senior aerospace executives, military officials and international government representatives at the official opening ceremony with a fly past by the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flanked by the Red Arrows.

Notable deals over the week included Virgin Atlantic concluding its purchase for 12 Airbus A350-1000s and the UK Government confirming the purchase of 50 Apache Helicopters and 9 Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft. Topping the order chart was AirAsia who signed up for 100 Airbus A380neos and 200 CFM LEAP-1A Engines.

Whilst adverse weather drew business to a close early on Monday, the halls remained busy throughout the week and visitor numbers from Monday to Thursday averaged 20,000 per day.

Speaking at the close week, Farnborough International Chief Executive, Shaun Ormrod said, “The extreme weather bought us some additional challenges this week, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped our exhibitors and visitors doing business. The halls have been busy all week, which is really encouraging for the supply chain industry. With these orders adding to the already large backlog, its looks like the aerospace industry is going to be busy for some years to come.”

The next Farnborough International Airshow is scheduled to take place 16-22 July 2018.

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