Aviation executives gathered for a second day at the Paris Air Show, the first time the event takes place outside the French capital in four years. The opening day saw local champion Airbus SE pull in a record order from Indian carrier IndiGo for 500 A320 family aircraft, and Day 2 is gearing up for another flurry of commercial announcements from the European manufacturer and its US rival, Boeing Co.
Amid all the order action, some aviation veterans are cautioning that airlines might be over-ordering, particularly as economic growth tapers off and leisure customers risk running out of funds after the first post-pandemic booking rush. On the other hand, constrained availability of new jets is forcing customers to act if they want to avoid being relegated to the end of the line.
Here are some of the main highlights from yesterday:
Following are the main developments at the show on Tuesday. All times are local:
Twin-Aisle Order (10:27 a.m.)
Airbus reached a deal to sell nine A350-1000 aircraft to Philippine Airlines, which plans to operate the twin-aisle jetliners on services from Manila to cities in North America. The carrier will fit the aircraft with 380 seats in a three-class configuration, Stanley Ng, the carrier’s president and chief operating officer, said at a briefing in Paris.
Engine Output (10:26 a.m.)
GE and its joint venture partner Safran have increased output of their CFM Leap engines by 30% in the first half compared with same period in 2022, said supply chain executive Mike Kauffman. The company created a 200-person procurement team last year and improved tools to track down bottlenecks among suppliers, he said. The production ramp-up is now focused on just 80 of the 5,000 discrete parts needed for the two Leap models used on Airbus and Boeing narrow-bodies, he said.
Leap Fixes (9:40 a.m.)
Testing of a redesigned high-pressure turbine blade for the Leap narrowbody engine “is doing very well” in testing, said General Electric Co. engineering Vice President Mohamed Ali. The new part has replicated and overcome faults that occur in harsh environments such as the Middle East, affecting durability on the Leap and its competitor, Pratt & Whitney’s geared-turbofan, Ali said in an investor presentation.
GE, a partner on the Leap with Safran SA, is also progressing with upgrades to the fuel nozzle and accessory radial drive shaft, said Russell Stokes, CEO of the manufacturer’s commercial engine unit. While the Leap, which powers all Boeing 737 Max and 55% of Airbus A320 jets, is outperforming its predecessor,“durability has to be our absolute No. 1 focus,” Stokes said.
Firming Up (9:05 a.m.)
Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd firmed up orders for an additional 9 Airbus SE A220 jets, the European planemaker said in a statement Tuesday. With the latest addition, Qantas will now take 29 A220-300s as part of order first announced in December 2021.
Author: Julie Johnsson, Kate Duffy and Siddharth Philip
