Farnborough Airshow Kicks Off With a Handful of Orders

Over 75,000 visitors were expected over the course of the five-day event in the small British town southeast of London. With Royal Air Force flyovers, and more than 1,200 exhibitors, it’s sure to be a busy week.

Over the next five days, all the events taking place will be covered in daily roundup articles, so be sure to check back each evening. In this article, we take a look at all the events occurring on the first day of the show, as well as a small press conference with executives at Boeing. 

At a press conference in London on the day before the show began, Boeing Commercial Aircraft CEO Stephanie Pope shared key details on the company. In response to questions regarding the impact on Boeing’s production, Pope claimed that Boeing had managed to increase production on its 737s and 787s. 

Pope, who recently took the helm of Boeing commercial aircraft due to the resignation of its former leader, claimed that she had key priorities to address when taking leadership. These included culture at the company, production, and quality. 

Korean Air announced at a press conference that they were ordering additional long-haul aircraft to its fleet.

The order consisted of 20 Boeing 777-9s, and 20 Boeing 787-10s, with a further 10 Boeing 787s being optional. Korean Air CEO Walter Cho claimed that these additional aircraft tied in nicely with the Airbus A350-1000s ordered earlier this year.

When questioned on when the aircraft would be delivered, Cho said Korean Air was looking at 2028 as the first delivery slot.

Japan Airlines has announced that it will procure an additional 10 Boeing 787-9s, with the first set to arrive in 2028 going through to 2031.

This is a finalization of the order announced in March of this year. Once the order is finalized, it will bring JAL’s order total to 10 Boeing 787s and 21 Boeing 737 Max.

In one of the first A321XLR orders of the airshow, Bhutan flag carrier Drukair announced a revolutionary short-haul order for the airline. The full breakdown consists of three Airbus A320neos and two Airbus A321XLRs. 

The airline’s current Airbus fleet consists of four Airbus A320 family aircraft: three Airbus A319s and an A320ceo. The new aircraft will be revolutionary for the small Bhutani carrier, allowing it to reach destinations farther away, such as the Middle East or northeastern Asia.

“[We're] thrilled to embark on this new chapter in Drukair’s history, which dovetails perfectly with the development of the Gelephu Mindfulness City and work to expand the Gelephu Airport [VQGP]," Drukair CEO Tandi Wangchuk said. "Our investment in these state-of-the-art aircraft underscores our dedication to supporting Bhutan’s vision of holistic and mindful development.”

Qatar Airways revealed its “QSuite next-gen” product, an upgrade to its current business-class product featured on its Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s. The new features include moveable 4K OLED Panasonic Astrova IFE screens, the first to be featured on board an airline’s cabin.

The seats in the cabin are also wider now, and the ability to socialize in so-called “Quad suites” (four seats grouped together) still remains at the heart of its product. The new seats will be featured on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-9s, which are on order and set to first arrive in 2025. 

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.