Paris Air Show to spotlight aircraft order rush, emissions targets and rising defence budgets

After a four-year hiatus, the world’s biggest international aerospace gathering, the Paris Air Show, opens next week, with industry executives expecting a spate of multibillion-dollar aircraft deals. It will be the first time the industry has gathered in Paris since the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Organisers expect close to 2,500 exhibitors from 47 countries to attend the show amid a global rebound driven by resurgent passenger demand for air travel. The recovery is underpinning a buying spree from across the globe, from low-cost European airlines as well as Asian and Middle Eastern carriers. Order books at Boeing and Airbus are so full that carriers are having to wait until the end of the decade to receive the most popular single-aisle aircraft. Meanwhile, defence executives will be meeting with a renewed sense of purpose. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a global race to re-arm, as western governments have pledged to increase defence spending after years of shrinking budgets. At the same time, headwinds, including soaring inflation, shortages of components as well as labour constraints, have continued to make an impact on aerospace and defence supply chains. “It’s hard to recall a time when we’ve had the level of demand for aircraft that we have today,” said John Plueger, CE of Air Lease, one of the world’s biggest aircraft lessors. <br/>