International Paris Air Show: Who's In Play? What Deals Have Been Made?

The International Paris Air Show, the largest and longest-standing aerospace trade show in the world, is currently staging its 51^st edition, which will take place between Monday and Saturday, inclusive. More than 2,300 exhibitors from around the globe have gathered to share the latest developments related to military and civilian flying technologies.

Now, although the event has just begun, interesting news are already transcending.

Narrow-Body Jets

Boeing Co BA andAirbus Group SE AIR EADSF, the world’s largest planemakers,are positioned to win at least 220 orders for competing narrow-body jets at the show, a Bloomberg article informs. The value of these orders would ascend to at least $23 billion.

The companies are expected to reveal their orders some time on Monday, but people familiar with the matter have said that the largest could come from aircraft leasing company AerCap Holdings N.V. AER, which is rumored to plan on buying 100 Max airplanes.

Sources are also saying that General Electric Company GE’s leasing unit is close to acquiring 60 A320neos from Airbus.

So, it seems that this year’s biggest buyers will be lessors. “Airlines probably want to just take the cash at the moment and give it back to shareholders for a change,” Mike Hawkins, managing director of consultant Aviation Asset Management, said. “If the manufacturers have holes in their production schedule they’ll be able to give the lessors a bit of a discount.”

All About Asia

It seems Asia is in the spotlight in this edition of the conference. According to diverse sources, Bloomberg assures, Korean Air Lines plans to purchase 30 planes from Boeing and 30 planes from Airbus, while Saudi Arabian Airlines is working on a deal with the latter, to acquire its A320neo aircrafts.

In addition, Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune has informed that Pakistan has successfully secured its “first ever export order for its JF-17 Thunder fighter on Monday.” While the buyer was not disclosed yet, people involved in the dealings said it was an Asian country that purchased the planes.

“Due to security concerns and client sensitivities, Mahmood chose not to specify the name of the customer and the number of aircraft it will obtain from Pakistan,” the article reads.