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Attendees talk at Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough

Attendees talk at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 22, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

  • Summary

  • Companies

  • Airbus and Boeing could secure around 300 aircraft orders, sources told Reuters

  • Defence companies will account for half of the show's record 1,600 exhibitors

  • Incoming British PM Burnham may appear at July ​20 to 24 Airshow

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 20 (Reuters) - Farnborough Airshow ‌opens on Monday with Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab and Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab pursuing aircraft deals and defence firms vying for a share of booming military budgets fuelled by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Planemakers are expected to announce a string of deals ​during the week, although industry sources say total orders are likely to fall well ​short of some analyst forecasts of 800 aircraft or more, reflecting supply-chain ⁠constraints that continue to limit production.

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At the same time, defence companies are arriving in force ​as governments boost military spending and seek lessons from conflicts that have highlighted the importance of ​drones, missile defence systems and artificial intelligence.

Monday's opening also coincides with the first day in office of Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham, who could make an appearance at the July 20 to 24 event.

Organisers say defence companies will make ​up half of a record 1,600 exhibitors at the show, highlighting a shift from the ​commercial aviation roots of an event that began in 1948 as a showcase for British aerospace technology.

The shift ‌reflects ⁠how conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East have transformed spending priorities and accelerated demand for new defence technologies, including unmanned fighter jets, kamikaze drones and autonomous AI software.

On the eve of the event, the head of Boeing's commercial airplane unit said the company is focused on ​increasing and improving aircraft production, "not ​order announcement."

Sources told Reuters ⁠Airbus and Boeing are together expected to secure a little over 300 aircraft orders unless last-minute negotiations produce additional deals.

Among the expected announcements is ​an order for around 100 narrowbody aircraft from each manufacturer by ​Irish leasing ⁠company SMBC Aviation Capital, the sources said. Bloomberg News first reported the potential deal. None of the companies involved commented.

Other airlines discussing orders include Riyadh Air and Philippine Airlines.

However, there were no immediate ⁠signs of ​a breakthrough in talks between Turkish Airlines and engine ​makers over long-term maintenance agreements that the carrier has linked to a planned purchase of 150 Boeing 737 MAX jets.

Reporting ​by Joanna Plucinska, Dan Catchpole, Tim Hepher, Joe Brock and David Shepardson; Editing by Sharon Singleton

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Joanna Plucinska

Joanna Plucinska

Thomson Reuters

Joanna reports on airlines and travel in Europe, including tourism trends, sustainability and policy. She was previously based in Warsaw, where she covered politics and general news. She wrote stories on everything from Chinese spies to migrants stranded in forests along the Belarusian border. In 2022, she spent six weeks covering the war in Ukraine, with a focus on the evacuation of children, war reparations and evidence that Russian commanders knew of sexual violence by their troops. Joanna graduated from the Columbia Journalism School in 2014. Before joining Reuters, she worked in Hong Kong for TIME and later in Brussels reporting on EU tech policy for POLITICO Europe.

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