There was an even louder sound than the roar of jet engines during the daily flying display at the Farnborough International Airshow this week — a collective sigh of relief from the civil aviation industry that Connecticut’s two jet-engine makers serve, The Associated Press reports.
New plane orders of almost $29 billion suggest the skies ahead are clearing after a deep two-year downturn, although the defense sector is still scarred by savage government budget cuts.
“This airshow … confirms the recovery trend we have been observing for a couple of months in air traffic globally has endured,” Tom Enders, CEO and President of European plane maker Airbus, said on Thursday, adding that his company planned to set a new sales target for this year.
New orders at the aviation industry’s premier event didn’t come close to the record-breaking $88.7 billion worth of deals announced at Farnborough in 2008 before the global recession hit demand for both business and leisure air travel.
But they easily surpassed orders of just $7 billion at Farnborough’s sister show at Le Bourget, near Paris — the pair alternate years — last year.
Pratt & Whitney Co. in East Hartford and General Electric Co. in Fairfield build airliner engines.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that the economies around the world are moving in a positive direction now,” Bombardier Commercial Aircraft President Gary Scott told the AP on Thursday, the last major business day of the show. “I think we all know that Europe is struggling maybe a bit more than the U.S. and both are struggling relative to the rest of the world but it’s all moving in the right direction.”
The International Air Transport Association recently forecast that the global industry would make a small profit of $2.5 billion this year, after a huge loss of $9.4 billion in 2009 — a marked improvement from its predictions late last year of more losses this year.
Reports from U.S. airlines for the second quarter this week have shown their strongest quarterly results in three years. After huge losses during the recession, Delta, United and US Airways – all three of which serve Bradley International Airport — combined to post profits of $1 billion.
At Farnborough, the potential changing face of the aviation industry was reflected in the fact that two plane leasing companies — both created just months ago — were among the biggest buyers.
Air Lease Corp. bought 54 Boeing 737-8s worth $4.1 billion according to list prices 51 A-320 family jets worth $4.4 billion and 10 ATR 72-600 turboprops at $221 million. GE Capital Aviation Services bought 60 A-320s worth $4.9 billion and 40 Boeing 737-8s worth $3 billion. Aircraft makers often give discounts to list prices.
Brazil’s Embraer and Russia’s Sukhoi won the race for small regional jet orders, leaving Canada’s Bombardier trailing and without any new orders for its much-touted C-series single-aisle jetliner. The Bombardier is powered by Pratt’s novel geared turbofan, a quieter, more fuel-efficient engine.
The short-haul planes offered by the smaller manufacturers are being snapped up to meet soaring demand for air travel across emerging markets — feeding a rise in low-cost airline start-ups across Asia and Latin America — before an anticipated later upturn in the United States and Europe.
