Singapore air show kicks off with orders for China's COMAC, Boeing

Singapore on Tuesday kicked off Asia's biggest aviation gathering with orders for China's COMAC and Boeing planes as the industry grapples with a rebound in post-pandemic travel demand in the face of severe supply constraints. More than 1,000 companies from more than 50 countries are participating in the biennial commercial and defence-focused Singapore Airshow, led by Western industry giants such as Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin and their Chinese competitors such as COMAC and AVIC. Russian companies such as Russian Helicopters and Irkut that attended past editions of the show are not participating this year amid the war in Ukraine. However, Israeli companies Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which dropped out of the Dubai Airshow in November amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, are in attendance. Trade delegates donned hats and sunglasses on a hot, clear day to watch flying displays featuring military aircraft from Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia, South Korea and the United States, as well as the COMAC C919 commercial jet and an Airbus A350-1000 powered by 35% sustainable aviation fuel. COMAC, which brought its self-developed C919 narrow-body jet outside Chinese territory for the first time to the show, posted the first aircraft orders of the event on Tuesday morning, with China's Tibet Airlines finalising an order for 40 C919 single-aisle planes and 10 ARJ21 regional jets, and China's Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group ordering 6 ARJ21s. Royal Brunei Airlines later announced a firm order for four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, while the U.S. planemaker also held a signing ceremony to mark a recently placed order for 45 of the wide-body planes by Thai Airways.<br/>