FARNBOROUGH, England: A lack of new models and concerns about the global economy limited plane purchases at this year’s Farnborough Air Show, where Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co. announced orders and commitments for jets worth roughly around $62 billion at list prices — much less the value they secured at last year’s Paris expo.
As Thursday drew to a close, the pair had won deals for around 461 jets, compared with a final tally of 752 in Paris.
Airbus was the clear winner during the show as it secured 279 orders and commitments worth $35 billion at list prices, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Airbus can expect 5 per cent annual growth as greater personal wealth in China contributes to a surge in air travel over the next two decades, Fabrice Bregier, who runs the manufacturer’s airliner unit, said Wednesday in an interview on French radio network Europe1 from the show outside London.
“Our objective is to consolidate our order book and have around 650 to 700 net orders this year,” he said.
US plane maker Boeing said on Thursday it had won orders and commitments for 182 aircraft worth a total of $26.8 billion at list prices during the course of the Farnborough Airshow this week. The new deals included a $1.4 billion order from TUI Group plus commitments from airlines including Xiamen Airlines and Donghai Airlines.
