BUOYANT INDUSTRY CHEERS AS PARIS KICKS OFF !
Buoyant industry cheers as Paris kicks off
By Jorn Madslien Business reporter, BBC News, Paris air show.
Boeing is "back in the game", analysts say.
There is a mood of almost cocky confidence as the world's largest air show kicks off at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris.
The signing of deals worth more than $300m (£150m) - equivalent to some 300 aircraft sold - are expected at the show, which is set to receive almost a quarter of a million industry visitors.
"Plane orders are increasing on the back of global economic growth," observes aerospace analyst Pierre Boucheny from Kepler Equities in Paris.
"The show falls at a good point in the cycle of the airline industry."
And the only way is up, according to US aerospace giant Boeing, which recently raised its sales forecast for the industry from $2.6 trillion to $2.8 trillion over the next two decades - equivalent to 28,600 planes.
Boeing in the lead
Boeing is in rude health, having landed almost 600 orders for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft, a plane built using modern composite materials that is due to fly for the first time next month.
"Since the last show, Boeing has got well back into the game," observes aerospace analyst Christophe Quarante of Natexis Bleichroeder in Paris.
Boeing's European rival, Airbus, meanwhile is struggling.
Customers have yet to take delivery of its A380 superjumbo, which made its first public appearance at an airshow at Le Bourget two years ago. The two-year delay, which was caused by a mixture of wiring difficulties within the aircraft itself and crossed wires at management level.
And its efforts to offer a rival to the 787 Dreamliner have been slow and unsuccessful, with orders for its A350 few and far between.
So far, only 13 firm orders have been signed, though this number could see a significant lift this week.
Airbus recovery?
Indeed, Airbus too is due a recovery after a disastrous couple of years, predicts James McNerney, chief executive of Boeing, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde over the weekend.
Is Airbus going to turn the corner from its struggles?
Boeing has re-discovered its "self-confidence", says Mr McNerney, while predicting that Airbus is set to re-emerge stronger than ever from its ongoing crisis.
"Airbus will make it," agrees John Newhouse, author of Boeing versus Airbus. "But it's going to take a while."
More pollution
And yet, as the show gets underway, the noise and the fumes from some 40 air displays will serve as regular reminders that the aerospace industry is still facing enormous challenges.
By Jorn Madslien Business reporter, BBC News, Paris air show.
Boeing is "back in the game", analysts say.
There is a mood of almost cocky confidence as the world's largest air show kicks off at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris.
The signing of deals worth more than $300m (£150m) - equivalent to some 300 aircraft sold - are expected at the show, which is set to receive almost a quarter of a million industry visitors.
"Plane orders are increasing on the back of global economic growth," observes aerospace analyst Pierre Boucheny from Kepler Equities in Paris.
"The show falls at a good point in the cycle of the airline industry."
And the only way is up, according to US aerospace giant Boeing, which recently raised its sales forecast for the industry from $2.6 trillion to $2.8 trillion over the next two decades - equivalent to 28,600 planes.
Boeing in the lead
Boeing is in rude health, having landed almost 600 orders for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft, a plane built using modern composite materials that is due to fly for the first time next month.
"Since the last show, Boeing has got well back into the game," observes aerospace analyst Christophe Quarante of Natexis Bleichroeder in Paris.
Boeing's European rival, Airbus, meanwhile is struggling.
Customers have yet to take delivery of its A380 superjumbo, which made its first public appearance at an airshow at Le Bourget two years ago. The two-year delay, which was caused by a mixture of wiring difficulties within the aircraft itself and crossed wires at management level.
And its efforts to offer a rival to the 787 Dreamliner have been slow and unsuccessful, with orders for its A350 few and far between.
So far, only 13 firm orders have been signed, though this number could see a significant lift this week.
Airbus recovery?
Indeed, Airbus too is due a recovery after a disastrous couple of years, predicts James McNerney, chief executive of Boeing, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde over the weekend.
Is Airbus going to turn the corner from its struggles?
Boeing has re-discovered its "self-confidence", says Mr McNerney, while predicting that Airbus is set to re-emerge stronger than ever from its ongoing crisis.
"Airbus will make it," agrees John Newhouse, author of Boeing versus Airbus. "But it's going to take a while."
More pollution
And yet, as the show gets underway, the noise and the fumes from some 40 air displays will serve as regular reminders that the aerospace industry is still facing enormous challenges.
Buoyant industry
Expected deals in Paris worth $300m (£150m)
Almost a quarter of a million trade visitors
Industry expected to sell 28,600 planes in next 20 years
True, tomorrow's planes will be lighter and more efficient than current models, and thus they will be quieter and emit less CO2 than current models.
But the sheer number of new planes entering the market in the years ahead will mean the industry as a whole is about to pump out a great deal more CO2 in the future than it does today.
Currently, planes and other aircraft account for just 0.6% of total CO2 emissions. This is set to rise to 5% by 2050, according to predictions cited in the Stern report.
Some solutions beyond better aircraft are already being implemented, though. Currently, 80% of the seats are occupied on an average flight, up from 70% a decade ago, Boeing points out.
Future fuels?
Other solutions could involve cleaner fuels, industry officials insist.
Hence, the aircraft makers will no doubt spend a lot of time at the show talking about how airlines could soon fill up with supposedly greener biofuels that would enable them to reduce CO2 emissions.
Do not expect such talk to be backed by investment commitments, however. Aircraft makers consistently insist that it is too expensive to modify existing aircraft, many with a couple of decades of flying ahead of them.
The challenge, thus, goes out to fuel suppliers, which are urged to produce the stuff. And to airlines, which are urged to buy it.
Hence, to the extent there are quick fixes to the green challenge, they are not forthcoming from the aircraft makers.
Labels: Paris CO2 Emissions Airlines Aircraft Airbus Boeing Crisis Fumes
posted by jackaranda at 7:23 pm
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