ON TOUR: Alison Chambers was at Farnborough

+ Farnborough Air Show – time for change?

Miss United Kingdom; four Concorde pilots; a newly elected Prime Minister, supported by a raft of eager Government representatives keen to engage with industry, were among VIP visitors at the biennial July Farnborough International Airshow (FIA). 

It turned out to be a mixed event, on the commercial side at least.  Boeing did not bring any aircraft to the show, with the new CEO not yet known.  At the time of writing, widely tipped former Rockwell Collins’ CEO Kelly Ortberg, with a strong engineering background, was formally named to lead the troubled Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

The buzz was in the halls – a sea of diverse aviation solutions, new autonomous and eVTOL vehicles and advanced technology.  FIA which ran its first show in 1948 is a firm tradition, but even traditions can change.   It wouldn’t be a surprise to me (who first attended as an air transport writer with Flight International in 1984 – the year of the Buffalo crash landing), nor your Editor-in-Chief with an even longer tenure, that FIA evolves to a ground-based show.  It’s not just the July timing.  The Royal International Air Tattoo, with its unrivalled flying and heightened hospitality for all the family, four days ahead of the show, has stolen its crown.   Last week, we also had that Glastonbury of aviation, Oshkosh, in the USA, which topped a record 686,000 visitors.

It was good to see British airlines on the static.  Virgin Atlantic showed its ‘Ruby Rebel’ liveried A330-900, marking its 40th birthday.  CEO Shai Weiss used the occasion to confirm an order for seven more -900s to replace older -300s, boosting its fleet type to 19. Total seat offerings by 2028 remain much the same.  He also warned of higher air fares, owing to the cost and scarce supply of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a talking point at the show following the King’s Speech and commitment for a new SAF fund.  (Currently there is only one refinery for SAF, in Humberside).  Five more are under development.

Back to the Future

Amid a flurry of orders for both Boeing and Airbus (including Korean Air, Luxair, Japan Air Lines, FlyNAS – the latter including its first Airbus A330 widebodies) a notable trend was the revival of older regional aircraft programmes, in new guises.  Having paused production in 2021, De Havilland celebrated 11 orders for its ‘Certified Refurbished’ Dash 8-400 and the launch of the Dash 8-400 freighter/Quick Change version.  It has acquired 28 Dash 8s for the programme to date.  Better known as the Twin Otter, the DHC Dash 6 secured orders for six newbuilds.

Ireland’s ACIA Aero Leasing is the first to start work on a ATR72-600 Large Cargo Door version (for which it holds the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), acquired from Leonardo eight years ago).  It has delivered eight ATR72 freighters to customers in the past 18 months.  Demand in Asia and Canada is especially strong, acknowledged CEO Mick Mooney.  A Braathens Regional Airlines’ ATR72-600 featured in the static sporting an executive pax layout, while a second put on a brilliant air display.

This type will be the launch aircraft for new, Edinburgh-based regional EcoJet, backed by controversial entrepreneur Dale Vince, owner of Ecotricity.  Its team, headed by CEO Brent Smith were at Farnborough, signing a Letter of Intent with Cranfield-based Arc Aerosystems for 50 Linx P9 ‘VTOL’ aircraft.  (Not one I’m familiar with either, but a programme supported by the UK and recently bolstered from investment from Saudi Arabia).

Another renaissance and the ultimate in sustainability is next gen seaplane travel. Norway’s Elfly Group with the 9 to 13 seat Noemi; Switzerland’s Jekta with the 19-seat PHA-ZE 100 who announced a 14-unit order at the show with Asia Seaplanes, CEO Dennis Keller travelling all the way from Thailand to ink the deal.  The USA’s Mallard Enterprises also snapped up an order for ten from MEHAIR in India.

eVTOLs at Farnborough

Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) designs from Brazil, Germany, Japan, Spain, UK and the USA showcased in the exhibition halls. None of them flew however, leaving that honour to a duo of all-electric NEBOAir Pipistrels, the only certificated electric aircraft to date in the west.  Joby Aviation is touting a longer-range model, using liquid hydrogen and fuel cells.  Hyundai Motor Group’s Supernal S-A2 draw admiration, along with Lilium, Embraer’s Eve and Crisalion Mobility’s ‘Integrity’ five-seat eVTOL, which announced an order for ten from Dubai’s Air Chateau.  Look for more on this at the upcoming Airtaxi World Congress in Dubai, 8-10 October.  Already, this market is over-saturated with some super ambitious players attracting millions in investment.

Regional hybrid/electric and all-electric commuterliner OEMs, Heart Aerospace, represented by Simon Hewitt and Simon McNamara and Eviation’s CEO Andre Stein (former CEO of Embraer’s Eve eVTOL) acknowledged the hype is with all the new eVTOL programmes, but equally they concede their programmes (the ES-30 and Alice) too will benefit from all the work these ambitious players are ploughing to secure infrastructure developments.  

At the Global Urban Air Mobility Conference on Thursday (Farnborough International shines with these conference events, with excellent theatres) the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s Sophie Louise O’Sullivan stated the intention is to make “full use of existing airports’ (airfields) infrastructure first.”  She added she hoped to see the first few mover aircraft flying (and certificated) by 2026.   

Airline bosses checking in

Several airline leaders arrived at the start the week for the show, including Flyadeal CEO Steven Greenway.  The Saudi Low Cost Carrier (LCC) is closing in on a wide-bodied order – but not in time for this show.  It was pleasing to see Peter Foster pick up Airline Leader of the Year accolade at the Airline Strategy Awards for Air Astana, BAE Systems’ longest running, and arguably most successful commercial venture.  He recalled how he and former Chair Sir Dick Evans committed to form the airline, signing on a napkin at The Dorchester – “the best way to start a carrier”, he quipped.

Return of supersonic

The Boom Supersonic hospitality chalet was among the most impressive of the show and home to the Overture XB-1 simulator.  Four ex-British Airways’ Concorde pilots Mike Bannister; John Tye; Keith Barton and Brian Oliver, together with Allan Winn, Chairman, Aviation Heritage, who brought Concorde to Brooklands Museum, were delighted to ‘fly’ the aircraft with its newly unveiled touchscreen Honeywell Anthem avionics. “The sidestick (by BAE Systems) is a huge shift in useability”,  said John Tye, recalling Concorde pilots had to undertake six months of training. “Future pilots are going to take to this naturally”, added Brian Oliver.  CEO Blake Scholl highlighted this will be the first all-new airliner in two decades.  He pledges Overture, initially offered in all business class layout, will bring fares, 75% lower than Concorde.

FIA concluded after four days with £81.5bn of deals; 260 commercial orders, mostly wide-bodied jets.  For the UK alone total deals amounted to £13bn according to organisers, Farnborough International.

www.farnborough.com

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READERS' COMMENT

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David Starkie, United Kingdom

And where was Britten Norman? Islander still in production but not appearing at Farnborough.