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Aviation giants fly into Farnborough under Brexit cloud
FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom, July 14, 2018 (AFP) – Top global plane makers
land at the Farnborough airshow in England next week, hoping to pick up speed
on demand for passenger jets while charting a path through Brexit and trade
war turbulence.
This year’s sector showpiece event, opening Monday, will be buzzing on the
back of rapid changes in the industry, as US titan Boeing and European arch
rival Airbus vie for superiority in the skies.
Chicago-headquartered Boeing could signal plans for its new midsize
airplane (NMA), but reports suggest this could be derailed by the festering
global trade war spearheaded by US President Donald Trump.
Boeing recently took control of the commercial business of Brazil’s
Embraer, while Toulouse-based Airbus bought a majority stake in Canadian peer
Bombardier’s C Series airliner programme.
The pair will continue their head-to-head dogfight at the biennial
Farnborough event locked in a battle for lucrative multi-billion-dollar jet
orders.
Farnborough, southwest of London, is one of the world’s largest civilian
and defence airshows, along with Paris and Dubai.
Visitors from almost 100 countries will flock to the event, which features
air displays by civil and defence jets.
– London to NY in an hour? –
“It’s our biggest international show ever,” said Gareth Rogers, chief
executive of Farnborough International, adding that Chinese participation
alone was up 70 percent from 2016.
“Everybody is coming to the show,” he added, noting that industry leaders,
politicians and government officials would also be attending.
One key talking point will be the NMA single-aisle commercial jets for
long-haul journeys, a sweet spot for plane makers.
Rising demand for various types of passenger planes from emerging
economies and the soaring success of no-frills airlines will raise the
market’s need over the next two decades, Airbus has forecast.
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The plane maker expects almost 37,400 new aircraft, worth $5.8 trillion,
will be required to meet global demand over the next 20 years. That was hiked
from its 2017 forecast of 35,000 new jets.
Airbus has however experienced delivery problems with its new fuel-
efficient A320neo jets, and has also faced challenges with the A380
superjumbo — the world’s largest civilian airliner — and its over-budget
military transporter A400M.
Boeing, fresh from striking a deal with Embraer, will issue its global
demand outlook on Tuesday.
This year’s airshow has been billed by organisers as “the return of
supersonic”, with several companies seeking to flesh out their tentative
plans for the first supersonic passenger aircraft since Concorde took its
final flight in 2003.
US company Boom Supersonic will make its debut presence at Farnborough and
hopes to make its new-generation jets in the mid-2020s or later, with the aim
of slashing journey times in half.
Boeing could meanwhile reveal more details for its “hypersonic” jet
concept that could be capable of reaching Mach 5 speed or higher, potentially
flying between New York and London in one hour.
– In shadow of Brexit –
Farnborough is taking place in the shadow of Britain’s stalled
negotiations to exit the European Union.
Organisers warn that aircraft could stop flying if British Prime Minister
Theresa May fails to clinch an adequate Brexit deal with Brussels.
Britain remains on course to leave the European Union on March 29 next
year.
“Our worst case scenario is genuinely — and it is not alarmist or scare
mongering — that aircraft will not fly,” said Farnborough International
chairman Paul Everitt, who is also head of aerospace, defence and space trade
body ADS.
“Aircraft will not fly because on… March 30, I am sitting at an airport
anywhere in the world, and they have got a piece of paper saying that this is
not a certified European product. This bit comes from the UK. And this bit
isn’t certified. So the plane does not fly.”
He added that EU’s European Aviation Safety Agency and Britain’s Civil
Aviation Authority regulators needed to meet and address the matter.
Airbus, which employs some 15,000 people in Britain, has warned it would
reconsider investments if Britain crashed out with no deal.
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