The global economy may still be struggling to recover, but there’s plenty of buying and selling going on at the Farnborough Airshow outside London this week. On Monday, Emirates Airline spent close to $14 billion, signing deals to buy 30 Boeing 777 airplanes plus Alliance engines for the 32 Airbus 380s the company bought last month. The airline also ordered $5 billion in engines from Pratt & Whitney. Airbus said on Monday morning it had new orders for 111 A320s. Unmanned vehicles are a show highlight this year, for the first time being shown in an indoor flying display complete with an aerial obstacle course. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner flew into the show for the first time after its first trans-Atlantic flight, and Airbus showcased its A400M, a four-engine cargo plane designed for military use, capable of hauling more than 40 tons.
The show is hosting more than 1,300 exhibitors from 38 countries, with an expected attendance of 250,000 visitors by the end of the week. At the last Farnborough show, in 2008, orders worth about $88 billion were placed. In other news from this week’s event, Dassault announced that its 900LX business jet has achieved certification from both FAA and EASA. Emivest showed a medevac version of its SJ30 jet for the first time. Bombardier disappointed fans when company officials failed to announce any new orders for their CSeries jet on the show’s opening day. The show continues all week, capping off with an airshow for the public over the weekend.
