Aircraft industry high-flyers touch down at Farnborough airshow amid supply chain turbulence
The residents of Farnborough, Hampshire, are constantly disturbed by flights to and from the UK’s busiest airport for private jets. But for one week in July every two years, the whine of commercial aircraft is replaced by the bone-juddering roar of fighter planes. The occasion is the Farnborough international airshow, a gathering of top executives from airlines, aircraft makers and arms manufacturers hoping to sell their wares and press flesh. Two years ago, the aerospace and defence industry was starting to emerge from the turmoil of the pandemic. For many of the attendees this week, the question will be less about whether there is demand for their products and more about whether they are able to make them fast enough. “The supply chain was supposed to be acute in 2022 and better by now,” says Nick Cunningham, an aerospace and defence equity analyst at Agency Partners. But that has not panned out as expected. The International Civil Aviation Organization forecasts that global air travel could triple by 2050. Without technological improvements, that would mean carbon dioxide emissions rising from about 500m tonnes to more than 1.5bn tonnes. The question of how to eliminate those carbon emissions is always the shadow hanging over airshows (particularly in 2022 during a record English heatwave), but that has not stopped Europe’s Airbus and America’s Boeing from racing to pile up orders from airlines.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-07-22/general/aircraft-industry-high-flyers-touch-down-at-farnborough-airshow-amid-supply-chain-turbulence
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Aircraft industry high-flyers touch down at Farnborough airshow amid supply chain turbulence
The residents of Farnborough, Hampshire, are constantly disturbed by flights to and from the UK’s busiest airport for private jets. But for one week in July every two years, the whine of commercial aircraft is replaced by the bone-juddering roar of fighter planes. The occasion is the Farnborough international airshow, a gathering of top executives from airlines, aircraft makers and arms manufacturers hoping to sell their wares and press flesh. Two years ago, the aerospace and defence industry was starting to emerge from the turmoil of the pandemic. For many of the attendees this week, the question will be less about whether there is demand for their products and more about whether they are able to make them fast enough. “The supply chain was supposed to be acute in 2022 and better by now,” says Nick Cunningham, an aerospace and defence equity analyst at Agency Partners. But that has not panned out as expected. The International Civil Aviation Organization forecasts that global air travel could triple by 2050. Without technological improvements, that would mean carbon dioxide emissions rising from about 500m tonnes to more than 1.5bn tonnes. The question of how to eliminate those carbon emissions is always the shadow hanging over airshows (particularly in 2022 during a record English heatwave), but that has not stopped Europe’s Airbus and America’s Boeing from racing to pile up orders from airlines.<br/>