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Come Rain or Shine, the Show Goes On
The Farnborough International Airshow 2016 recorded orders and options of the value of $123.9 billion defying industry expectations
Dark clouds, literally as well as metaphorically, were looming large. The United Kingdom had just decided to walk out of the European Union and the ‘Brexit’ referendum was weighing on everyone’s mind. While everyone was discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the move, there was a sudden downpour and the Farnborough International Airshow had to close early on day one. Was that a dampener? Is ‘Brexit’ going to be a stumbling block? No. It did not appear so, at least for now. The iconic Farnborough International Airshow from July 11 to 15, 2016, closed on a high note, despite all the fears. The organisers of the show confirmed that 2016 had recorded orders and options to the value of $123.9 billion defying industry expectations. Farnborough International’s internal order tracker recorded a total of 856 aircraft valued at $93.98 bilion, 1,407 engines valued at $22.7 billion and a variety of other business deals totalling $7.2 billion. If that is not good news, nothing is.
However, for the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, who inaugurated the airshow, it was his last major event before he stepped down from office, a fall-out of ‘Brexit’. He along with Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson opened the event which included a fly-past by the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flanked by the Red Arrows which came up with dazzling display after initial rumours that they would not be flying at the show. It was in a way making a statement that the aviation industry has the resolve to bounce back. Commercial Director, Amanda Stainer, said: “It’s been a really successful show for our exhibitors. Our marketing suite has been busy and we have already taken a considerable re-bookings for the 2018 show. The Meet-the-Buyer programme has gone well with over 1,700 meetings taking place as has the military delegations and civil and commercial delegations programme which has seen representation from over 60 countries.”
Commercial Aviation Hogs the Limelight
The Farnborough Airshow is one place, Paris being the other, where commercial aviation takes precedence over everything else, where aerospace behemoths are in their aggressive best. The continuing duel between the two major players, Airbus and Boeing, is now passé.
Boeing Centennial
For the US aerospace giant, The Boeing Company, Farnborough was an ideal location to celebrate its centenary year. The company recorded multibillion-dollar orders and commitments for services, defence platforms and commercial airplanes at the highly successful show. Boeing Chairman, President and CEO, Dennis A Muilenburg said, “As the birthplace of British aviation, there are few better backdrops to celebrate the accomplishments and wonders of the aerospace industry and mark our centennial than the Farnborough Airshow. Throughout the show, we demonstrated and discussed our innovative and cost-effective products and services as also the tremendous value they provide our commercial and defence customers.”
“On the commercial side of the business, we were pleased at the confidence our customers displayed in our portfolio of airplanes and services with significant orders and other announcements,” Muilenburg said. Customers announced orders and commitments during the week for a total of 182 Boeing commercial airplanes, valued at $26.8 billion at list prices. Boeing has booked 321 net orders in 2016, as updated on July 14 on the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website. Customers also announced multibillion dollars worth of commercial services agreements over the life of the contracts, including the largest commercial services order in Boeing history.”
From a military perspective, Boeing had it good with the UK Ministry of Defence announcing a $2.3-billion deal to secure 50 Apache AH-64E helicopters and confirming the purchase of nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the Royal Air Force. Importantly, Boeing and the British Government announced a long-term partnering initiative to advance growth and prosperity, including creation of 2,000 new jobs by Boeing in the UK, the intent to build a new $135 million P-8A Poseidon facility at RAF Lossiemouth, increased Boeing capital investment in the UK and additional bidding opportunities on Boeing programmes for UK suppliers. It could not have come at a better time than this for Boeing which had on flying display the ANA 787-9 Dreamliner, 737Max, P-8A and F/A-18F Super Hornet.
THE FARNBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW IS ONE PLACE, PARIS BEING THE OTHER, WHERE COMMERCIAL AVIATION TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER EVERYTHING ELSE
Embraer and Boeing Team Up
Embraer and Boeing signed a teaming agreement to jointly market and support the KC-390, a multi-mission mobility and aerial refuelling aircraft. They will together pursue new business opportunities, both for the aircraft itself and for aircraft support and sustainment. Embraer will provide the aircraft while Boeing will be responsible for in-service support. The Embraer KC-390 is a tactical transport aircraft designed to set new standards in its category while presenting the lowest life-cycle cost. It can perform a variety of missions such as cargo and troop transport, troop and cargo air delivery, aerial refuelling, search and rescue and fighting forest fires. The aircraft is currently on an eight-nation tour and expects to receive certification by end-2017. Deliveries are expected in the first half of 2018.
Airbus Domination Continues
Airbus bagged $35 billion worth of business for a total 279 aircraft covering single-aisle and wide-body aircraft families. The deals comprise firm orders for 197 aircraft worth $26.3 billion and commitments for 82 worth $8.7 billion. Notably, the larger A321neo took a lion’s share of the single-aisle announcements with firm selections from three airlines for 140 aircraft, reflecting the trend for airlines to upsize to larger single-aisle aircraft. In the wide-body segment, Airbus won firm orders for ten aircraft worth $3.4 billion comprising two A330-300s and eight A350-1000s. The show also saw the launch order from DHL Express for the A330-300 passenger-to-freighter conversion programme. John Leahy, Airbus’ Chief Operating Officer, Customers said, “Our orders this week at Farnborough confirm a buoyant industry in which we have once again surpassed our competitor. In addition, airlines upsizing to the A321neo shows that this aircraft is the undisputed ‘middle-of-the-market’ champion.”
AirAsia Makes Headlines
AirAsia signed a firm order with Airbus for the purchase of 100 A321neo aircraft. The contract was announced at the Farnborough Airshow by AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes and Airbus President and CEO Fabrice Brégier. The contract marks the first order by AirAsia for the largest model in the best-selling A320 family. Seating up to 240 passengers in a single class layout, the A321neo will enable the airline to increase capacity while benefiting from the lowest operating costs in the single-aisle category. The announcement sees the total number of A320 family ordered by AirAsia rise to 575, reaffirming the carrier’s position as the largest customer for the Airbus single-aisle product.
A400M Paratrooping Trials
Airbus Defence and Space featured the A400M new generation airlifter with intensive paratrooping trials. The company presented dropping of 30 paratroopers at the Tarbes drop zone in southern France and certification of this capability is expected imminently. Continuing trials will move stepwise to 40 paratroopers and beyond.
ATR UNVEILED ITS 20-YEAR MARKET FORECAST THAT PEGS THE NUMBER AT 2,800 NEW TURBOPROP AIRCRAFT
Partnering with Roketsan
Airbus Defence and Space and Roketsan Missiles Industries of Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding to integrate a range of weapon systems on the Airbus C295W surveillance and transport aircraft. The companies will collaborate on the design, integration and initial testing of a variety of weapons from Roketsan’s existing product range.
Forecast by ATR
Though Embraer, Bombardier and ATR did not have recordbreaking orders at the show, they made their presence felt by listing out their respective competitive edge. ATR unveiled its 20-year market forecast that pegs the number at 2,800 new turboprop aircraft. ATR predicts that 1,000 turboprops will be replacing older aircraft and the rest will be fleet growth, coming from countries such as China, India, Iran, Japan and the US.
Embraer Has Modest Sales
At Farnborough, Embraer did not have any attention-seeking orders. The sales have been modest, though overall orders for both its current and next generation family of E-Jets is encouraging. There were two new customers in the E2 order book with the addition of airlines in Israel and Indonesia. Both customers currently operate E-Jets and are growing their fleet with E2s.
SENSE-AND-AVOID SOLUTIONS DO NOT CURRENTLY EXIST FOR UAS TO OPERATE IN A NATIONAL CIVILIAN AIRSPACE
Indonesia’s Kalstar signed a $582-million firm orders for up to ten E-190-E2s, including five purchase rights. Deliveries are to begin in the first quarter of 2020. The new order brings the E-Jets E2 backlog to 272 firm orders plus 388 letters of intent, options and purchase rights, a total of 660 commitments from airlines and leasing companies. Aircraft lessor Nordic Aviation Capital is picking up four current generation E-190s, besides it signed a letter of intent for ten E-195 E2s with Arkia Israeli Airlines. Continuing the trend of low sales, Bombardier announced an insignificant purchase of three Q400 turboprop aircraft by Porter Airlines of Toronto, valued at $93 million.
Mitsubishi MRJ Development
The Nagoya-based aircraft manufacturer announced an order for ten MRJ90s with ten purchase options, from Rockton Aviation, an aircraft lessor based in Stockholm, Sweden. The order marks the MRJ’s first from a European customer and second from a lessor. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation CEO Hiromichi Morimoto said that the MRJ is on track for certification and entry-into-service in 2018.
Turkish Regional Jet in the making
The Turkish Regional Jet (TRJ328), a new 30-seat regional jet based on the Dornier 328 platform, also had its coming out party at Farnborough, announcing a series of suppliers for various components and a new order for ten aircraft from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. For the TRP328, the turboprop variant of the family, TRJet, the Ankara-based manufacturer of both types, signed an agreement with Pratt & Whitney to use a to-be-developed PW127 turboprop engine on the new turboprop and announced five orders from Sentinel Aerospace Group of Singapore.
F-35B Lightning II Steals the Show
The F-35B Lightning II aircraft from Lockheed Martin was to steal the show in 2014, but did not make it to Farnborough due to engine issues. However, this time, it stole the thunder, wowing visitors with its short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities. The F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multi-role fighters undergoing final development and testing in the US. The fifth-generation combat aircraft is designed to perform ground attack and air defence missions. The F-35 has three main models, the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, the F-35B STOVL variant and the F-35C carrier-based catapult assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) variant.
Similarly, Eurofighter Typhoon’s performance set against a backdrop of dark clouds had the visitors asking for more. The roar of the engines and the orange glow in the tail made the aircraft look a lot more ominous.
Lockheed Martin Unveils Armed Black Hawk
Lockheed Martin unveiled a European-built Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter, showcasing the types of weapons that can be integrated onto the multi-role aircraft. Armed external wings on either side of the displayed aircraft featured four weapons stations, with launchers for a mix of air-to-ground missiles, a 19-shot Hydra-70 rocket pod and an FN HERSTAL Belgium manufactured rocket machine gun pod. For laser designating of a future weapons system as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, the aircraft’s cockpit chin features Lockheed Martin’s Infirno sensor system.
Honeywell and IAI Develop New UAV Systems
Engineers at Honeywell and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) are jointly developing sense-and-avoid capability for IAI’s Heron family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “Sense-andavoid solutions do not currently exist for UAS to operate in a national civilian airspace. With more manned and unmanned vehicles entering that airspace, the need for sense-and-avoid is increasing,” explained Carey Smith, President, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace. “We have decades of experience helping manned aircraft operate safely around the world and now we’re applying that knowledge and inventing new technologies and solutions to create a safer airspace.” The senseand-avoid system, funded by the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, will be demonstrated for the first time on the Heron medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAS platform in 2018.
GOAIR ON AN EXPANSION SPREE
Indian low-cost airline GoAir has chosen Airbus for its further expansion plans by signing a memorandum of understanding for 72 A320neo aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow. GoAir announced its latest order following a similar agreement for 72 A320neo placed in 2011 bringing the total order to 144. The first two aircraft from this order were delivered in June. With the neo induction, GoAir will expand its network and offer fliers better connectivity and continue its growth as one of India’s preferred low-cost airline.
“The new A320neo provide us the competitive edge to achieve our growth targets and help us strengthening our presence in the wider region. It also reaffirms GoAir’s commitment to deliver the most modern, comfortable and excellent air travel experience to all customers as well as to strengthen the sustained positive growth and business expansion of the company. The new aircraft will help us in unlocking new domestic routes while providing a springboard for continued international network expansion in the years to come.” said GoAir CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer.
“This further commitment by GoAir is a testament to the reliability, passenger popularity and unbeatable operating economics of the A320 family. I congratulate GoAir,” said Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers, John Leahy.” GoAir is among the three first A320neo operators and with an order for 144 is one of the leading operators of the type.”
GoAir is the first airline to use A320neo in Spaceflex configuration with 186 seats without compromising on the passenger leg room and comfort. This configuration will also enable better service and availability during peak season for the travellers.
Solutions from Textron
For the first time ever, Textron Inc had six of its businesses—Textron Aviation, Textron AirLand, Textron Systems, Bell Helicopter, TRU Simulation +Training and Textron Airborne solutions—at the show. The line-up featured advanced rotorcraft, tactical turboprop, jet aircraft, precision weapons and unmanned aircraft. Beechcraft Defense Company highlighted their special mission and defence capabilities, including a static display of the fusion-equipped Beechcraft King Air 350ER, Cessna Grand Caravan EX and the Beechcraft T-6C.
Bell V-280 Tiltrotor Debuts
The Bell V-280 Valor, one of two contenders to replace the Pentagon’s fleet of UH-60 Black Hawks, AH-64 Apaches and other medium-sized helicopters, appeared outside of the US for the first time at Farnborough. Bell is hoping that the V-280, a smaller, sleeker progeny of the company’s V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, will trump the more traditional helicopter design of the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 during a faceoff in 2017.
Gulfstream G500 European Debut
The all-new G500 from Gulfstream Aerospace made its European debut at Farnborgough. The G500 flew non-stop from Savannah to Farnborough Airport in six hours and 55 minutes, accomplishing the 6,912-kilometre flight at an average speed of Mach 0.90 and altitude of 45,000 feet. “Since the first flight of the G500 in May 2015, we have been steadily expanding the test fleet and progressing towards the aircraft’s certification in 2017,” said Mark Burns, President, Gulfstream. The G500 is slated to receive type certification in 2017 and deliveries expected in 2018.
GE and its JVs Get Over $25 billion
GE Aviation and its joint venture companies, including CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE and Snecma (Safran), announced more than $25 billion in orders and commitments at the show. These included over 800 GE and CFM engines as well as TrueChoice suite of engine maintenance offerings. GE Aviation also finalised agreements with IHI Corporation and Safran Aircraft Engines. Safran CFM International celebrated the production of the 30,000th CFM56 engine. CFM International’s industry-leading LEAP and CFM56 product lines remain the engines of choice for single-aisle aircraft, with the company announcing orders, commitments and long-term service agreements for a total of 565 engines valued at $8.2 billion.
“Our customers and their operations are always at the forefront of everything we do, from the technology we incorporate into our engines to the way we support the fleet,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, President and CEO of CFM International.
EASA Certifies Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN
The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN (thrust, efficiency and new technology) engine, which will power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, has received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The certificate was presented by Trevor Wood, Certification Director, EASA, to Gareth Jones, Trent 1000 Chief Engineer, Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce at Farnborough.
Irrespective of whether it was civil or military, this edition of Farnborough was good for the industry, though not spectacular, considering the prevailing economic and security situation in the world, more so in Europe.
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