Breaking Records is the Norm

The organisers of the biennial Farnborough International Airshow were pleased as punch. An effusive Chief Executive of Farnborough International Limited (FIL), Shaun Ormrod declared at the end of the five-day show, “We are extremely pleased by these numbers, there is already an order backlog and these additional orders will keep manufacturers in business and people employed for some years to come. It is great news for UK business and the economy.”

And the number he was talking was $201 billion in orders and commitments during the show. It was not just the record-breaking numbers that FIL was excited about, but the kind of technologies it brought to the table. The entire show is seen as a precursor to not just technological development, but also how the market is going to behave in the short and long terms. The figure represents an extremely positive note for the global aerospace industry. Orders and commitments recorded were for 1,600 civil jet engines valued at $34.5 billion, 1,100 aircraft totalling $152 billion and service contracts for $14.5 billion, reflecting the buoyancy of the aerospace industry.

Contributing to this global trend were some global aerospace majors who have made it a habit to hog the limelight at key shows across the world. While the never-ending but healthy rivalry between Airbus and Boeing grab headlines, there were others players who featured prominently.

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Grabs Attention

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was the cynosure of all eyes, despite its entry into service in 2011.. Built as a replacement for the ageing 767 model, the Dreamliner, albeit delayed, has set new trends in aviation. The 787-9 is the latest version of the platform, built with a longer fuselage, 206 feet as against 186 feet of the 787-8 base model. With a largger body, it acarries more passengers and fuel. The wingspan of the aircraft remains the same at 197 feet. The 787-9 leverages the visionary design of the 787-8, offering passengers features such as large windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride. Twenty-six customers around the world have ordered 413 787-9s, accounting for 40 per cent of all 787 orders.

Just prior to its Farnborough outing, the 787-9 Dreamliner was certified for commercial service by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Boeing is now in the final stages of preparing for the first 787-9 delivery to launch customer Air New Zealand.

During the show, Boeing’s order-book was way behind the European giant, Airbus. That did not deter Boeing which marked its 40th year at Farnborough, highlighting innovative, efficient commercial airplanes and its advanced defence capabilities. Boeing announced a new 200-seat 737 MAX 8 option that will give airlines up to 11 more seats of revenue. This latest addition to Boeing’s comprehensive product and services line up will deliver 20 per cent fuel-consumption savings compared to today’s Next-Generation 737. The US major also announced new details about the interior of the 777X. The new model will build on the award-winning interior of today’s 777 and apply 787 Dreamliner cabin innovations: higher cabin humidity, windows more than 15 per cent larger and a 16 inches wider cabin, allowing airlines a variety of economy class seat widths.

Airbus Gets the Ball Rolling

The European aerospace giant Airbus broke all records as regards orders and commitments, while it launched Airbus A330-800neo and the A330-900neo. This was followed by an announcement that Air Lease Corporation had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for 25 A330-900neo aircraft, becoming the first launch customer for this new wide-body.

The Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Bregier declared it “the best Farnborough Airshow in Airbus history in terms of jet sales. I am personally very happy.” Airbus had won during the week business worth over $75 billion for 496 aircraft, a new Airbus record at Farnborough. The deals comprise MoU for 138 aircraft worth $36.9 billion and purchase orders for 358 aircraft worth $38.4 billion.

In the single-aisle sector, Airbus’ A320 Family garnered an impressive 363 commitments worth $39 billion. Of these, the orders for 317 A320neo and A321neo aircraft worth $34.4 billion are a further reflection of how the A320neo Family continues to outpace the competition. Airbus achieved the 3,000th A320neo Family sale during the show. The milestone was reached when SMBC Aviation Capital ordered 110 A320neo aircraft, marking the show’s biggest vote of confidence for the leading single-aisle aircraft family.

Embraer Presents New Cabin

The Brazilian aerospace behemoth had a good outing at Farnborough, notching up decent orders, while the senior executives were excited about the re-engined E2. It also showcased the cabin mock-up of the E2.

Embraer has chalked out a clever strategy to garner substantial market share. It is downsizing its E-Jets family from four to three with the introduction of E2 Jets which are going to have larger windows and overhead bins, mood lighting and a staggered business class seat configuration. It will soon have E175-E2; E190-E2 and E195-E2 family of jets. Embraer said it would freeze the design of E190-E2 by the end of 2014. The entry in service for E190-E2 is 2018; for E195-E2 is 2019 and E175-E2 is 2020.

The President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation, Paulo Cesar Silva said that Embraer jets were in operation with 86 airlines, clear domination in the 70-130 seat segment. “We are going to keep investing the improvement of the existing programme. E2 is an effort of continuous innovation.”

Luis Carlos Affonso, Embraer Commercial Aviation Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer, announced that the company was making investments to the tune of $1.7 billion to ensure that the E-Jets were way ahead of competition. “Our strategy is different. We are not just thinking about re-engining, but also new wings and other features. Design of new wings for both E-175 and E-190 were on. We are going to have an increased carry-on capacity, that is 40 per cent increased volume.”

Bombardier Gaining Momentum

The President and Chief Operating Officer of Bombardier Aerospace, Guy C. Hachey expressed satisfaction on the company’s performance during the year and also at the show. “It has been a great week for Bombardier at the Farnborough Airshow, and I’m very pleased with the momentum we’re building across our entire product portfolio. Our discussions with customers have progressed, and we were very pleased to make a number of announcements.” Bombardier Aerospace announced firm orders, conditional purchase agreements and letters of intent for a total of 74 aircraft, valued at more than $4.25 billion should all commitments be converted to firm orders.

As regards business aviation, Bombardier had a full range of its industry leading aircraft on static display, including the Learjet 75, Challenger 350, Challenger 605 and Global 6000 jets. The event marked the European debut and first public appearance for the Challenger 350.

Good Year for ATR

The turboprop aircraft manufacturer announced at the show that it had firm orders for 144 aircraft (119 ATR 72-600 and 25 ATR 42-600), with options for 112 additional aircraft, since the beginning of the year. This year’s contracts represent a total value of over $6 billion including options. These sales represent 150 per cent of the total sales in 2013. This will further strengthen ATR’s leading position and confirm the predominance of turboprop aircraft, particularly those of ATR, over short distances.

Rolls-Royce Debut of Trent XWB Engine

Named after a river, the Trent XWB (extra wide body) engine from Rolls-Royce was on the Airbus A350 XWB and the new ‘stretch’ Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. At the show, the Airbus A350 XWB in the livery of Qatar Airways was powered by the Trent XWB, making the employees of Rolls-Royce elated with its performance.

The selection of the new Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine as the exclusive power plant for Airbus’s A330neo aircraft preceded selection announcements by AirAsia X (50 aircraft), Transaero Airlines (12) and lessors Air Lease Corporation (25), CIT (15) and Avolon (15). The Trent 7000 builds on the market-leading Trent 700 to deliver significant performance benefits, improving specific fuel consumption by 10 per cent and halving perceived noise.

CFM and Single-Aisle Aircraft

"What an incredible week,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, President and CEO of CFM International. “We started the show predicting that 2014 would be another record year; that prediction came true in a big way. As of today, we have total orders and commitments for more than 3,000 engines. And it is still only July. Both the LEAP and CFM56 product lines continue to prove their worth to our airline customers around the globe and we are constantly gratified by the continued faith these airlines show in our people and our products. As always, our job is to continue to earn their trust every day, delivering the reliability and operating economics they have come to depend on from CFM.”

CFM International signed orders, commitments and long-term service agreements for a total of 1,062 engines.

Pratt & Whitney and IBM Pact

Pratt & Whitney joined hands with IBM to enhance engine fleet management and health solutions. The arrangement will significantly broaden its current performance monitoring capabilities of more than 4,000 operational commercial engines. IBM will assist Pratt & Whitney in leveraging its world-class, military diagnostic, prognostic and health management capabilities to enable proactive and automated logistics to its rapidly expanding commercial fleet.

“By incorporating learnings from our military engines programmes where we are pushing the envelope in terms of monitoring capabilities, and teaming with IBM to integrate component and system health information, we will strengthen our commercial engine health analytics offering for customers," said Matthew Bromberg, President, Pratt & Whitney Aftermarket.

Dedicated General Aviation Park

Farnborough International Limited introduced this year a dedicated General Aviation (GA) Park as part of the new look Farnborough Airshow. The GA Park showcased the latest in private and recreational flying and attracted all the leading aircraft and helicopter manufacturers and distributors in the category.

FIL CEO Shaun Ormrod said: “As organisers of a major aviation expo, we want to put our expertise into putting on a great public event that stands apart from other airshows. The Farnborough Airshow brand is strong and we are confident the introduction of GA and other new features will attract a broader audience.”

Dassault Spotlight on Falcon 8X

Dassault Aviation had on static display the Falcon 7X and Falcon 2000LXS, but the spotlight was on its extremely new flagship of Falcon family – the Falcon 8X. The first flight is expected in early 2015 with certification in the middle of 2016 and initial deliveries before the end of 2016.

Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, said “The Falcon 8X will be our new flagship and a great complement to our product line. It builds on Dassault expertise in aerodynamics, in precision design and manufacturing and in advanced digital flight controls. It embodies the best of Falcons that have come before with the most capability of any Falcon ever.”

Beechcraft, Cessna Combo Advantage

The entire product range of Beechcraft and Cessna were available in special mission configurations. All 20 current production aircraft – including a Special Mission Beechcraft King Air 350ER that were on display,– fit numerous mission profiles, including aerial survey, air ambulance, flight inspection, aerial surveillance, training and utility transport.

“With the combination of the Beechcraft and Cessna products within Textron Aviation, we now offer the largest proposition of special mission platforms in the industry,” said Dan Keady, Vice President, Special Missions. “We have seen a significant growth in special mission activity around the globe and anticipate this market will continue to grow across our aircraft platforms. From our piston-engine Beechcraft and Cessna products up to the largest Citation business jets, we are able to offer our customers an aircraft to fit just about any mission requirement.”