FARNBOROUGH, England (AP) - A few last minute orders are expected at the Farnborough International Airshow on Thursday, the last major day for doing business at the biennial event that has this year witnessed a revival in commercial aviation.
Plane makers have so far notched up orders worth more than $28 billion at the show, even though government budget cuts are keeping the defense sector in the doldrums.
"Air travel demand is continuing to rise in the Middle East and it is becoming clear that international demand is returning as the global economy shows signs of recovery," Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said as his airline agreed a deal with Boeing to take earlier delivery of the U.S. company's fuel-efficient 787 jetliner.
"Commercial business travel is so dependent on innovation that there will always be opportunities," Al Baker added. "Each downturn is an upturn somewhere else."
Orders at the show are well off the record-breaking $88.7 billion worth of deals announced at Farnborough in 2008, but the gathering has already exceeded the slow orders for commercial planes of around $7 billion at sister show Le Bourget, near Paris, last year.
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 quick improvement from its predictions late last year of more losses this year.
"The number of orders shows that the economic recovery is on its way," said Commercial Aviation Consulting analyst Max Sukkhasantikul.
More than 1,000 exhibitors from 38 countries are at Farnborough, with delegations from Egypt, Taiwan and Morocco attending for the first time. Organizers also cited stronger interest from major players China and Russia.
Among the big buyers at the industry's premier event were two plane leasing companies that have only been created in recent months. Air Lease Corp. has so far signed the largest deals, dividing orders for 115 planes worth $8.6 billion between Boeing, Airbus and French-Italian regional turboprop manufacturer ATR. Qatar's Al Baker said his company's leasing arm was noting strong demand.
Other buyers include Thai Airways, Berlin-based airline Germania, Indonesian national carrier Garuda and Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways.
Canadian manufacturer Bombardier has so far failed to line up an order for its much-touted C-series, which the Montreal-based company is marketing as a fuel-efficient alternative to the current offerings from the Boeing-Airbus duopoly.
Boeing has notched up a number of sales for its fuel-efficient 787 jetliner, which is making its international debut at Farnborough after a problem-plagued production line delayed the delivery schedule. The first 787 is due to be handed to Japan's ANA later this year, more than two years overdue, and Boeing has said that could slip into the first few weeks of 2011.
