Attention is on Boeing at the Farnborough Airshow
Boeing will seek to shore up its troubled 737 MAX 10 and 777X jetliners with orders officially worth over $15 billion from Delta Air Lines and Lufthansa this week, as the aerospace industry swelters at its largest event since COVID-19.
Industry sources said the U.S. planemaker, struggling to maintain a grip on its duopoly with Europe’s Airbus, would strike early at the Farnborough Airshow, which opens on Monday, after months of talks on its largest 737 with Delta.
Reuters first reported in March that Delta was discussing buying 100 MAX 10 and reported last week that the airline was in talks to order around 12 more Airbus A220s in a deal likely be announced on Tuesday.
Germany’s Lufthansa is likely to firm up a deal for around 10 large Boeing freighters, including seven of the recently launched cargo version of the 777X, sources said.
None of the parties commented ahead of the show, which is going ahead despite an emergency weather warning and transport disruption caused by forecasts for record high temperatures.
As Britain melts, aerospace firms will do their best to show civil demand is intact after the worst downturn in their history. Rising defence spending will also be in focus as the industry gathers under the shadow of war in Ukraine.
Boeing unveiled broadly stable civil airplane forecasts on Sunday.
Even so, many of the deals will be provisional ones or formal signings of business already in the works, and virtually all will be packaged as contributions to lower emissions in support of a common goal of net zero by 2050, delegates said.
EasyJet is set to win shareholder approval for a recent deal for 56 Airbus A320neos, placing it on Farnborough’s radar. Etihad has firmed up an order for seven A350 freighters, though it is unclear whether these will be unveiled at the show.
Poland’s LOT is studying proposals from existing suppliers Boeing and Embraer as well Airbus and engine firms, but will not make a decision at the show, a person close to the talks said, denying a report that the airline had already picked Airbus.
Demand for jets peaked in 2016 but remained buoyant until the pandemic crippled air transport. Now, travel is rebounding, passengers face long lines and some jets are back in demand.
Yet, apart from Delta’s expected MAX purchase, the big-ticket orders that dominated past events are rarer as airlines repair balance sheets weakened by COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Airbus and Boeing officials flew to India ahead of the show chasing a potential $50 billion blockbuster from Air India owner Tata Group. It is studying 200-300 narrowbodies and 30-70 wide-bodies split between suppliers, but hopes of a sizzling order to match this week’s temperature are on hold for now, sources said.
That means most attention will be on the MAX 10 and 777X which Boeing plans to fly in a scaled-down Farnborough display.
Reuters.com by Tim Hepher, David Shepardson, Paul Sandle; Editing by Mark Potter and Cynthia Osterman