- Airbus beat Boeing in the orders tally at last week's Farnborough Airshow.
- But orders were down from previous years amid supply-chain frustrations.
The usual orders battle between Airbus and Boeing played second fiddle to supply-chain issues at last week's Farnborough Airshow.
Airbus announced 164 orders compared to Boeing's 96 — a lower tally than previous airshows. There were over 500 orders at Farnborough in 2022, over 1,000 orders in Paris last year, and 280 at November's Dubai Airshow.
"Coming to Farnborough, we have a lot of news around how the supply chain is performing — it's a very difficult time," Joshua Ng, a director at Alton Aviation Consultancy, told Business Insider.
He added that the order count doesn't matter as much as the number of planes delivered to airlines.
Last month, Airbus reduced its delivery targets, citing supply chain issues, which saw its stock drop as much as 11%.
The day before the show, Guillaume Faury, the Airbus CEO, told the media the planemaker was having "important discussions" with some key suppliers as it was facing "a bit of an unexpected challenge."
Frustrations with the supply chain were evident among airline bosses speaking at a summit on the first day of the airshow.
"We need aircraft, we need engines," said Luis Gallego, CEO of International Airlines Group — the parent company of British Airways and Aer Lingus, among others.
"It's a pity that with the strong demand we have, we don't have capacity for these people that want to fly," he added.
This year's drop in orders might also be a natural downturn following aviation's recovery from COVID.
"2024, I think, also might be an inflection point," Ng told BI. The pandemic effects are over, and we're seeing airlines tread water."
Boeing's blues
In the wake of January's Alaska Airlines blowout and the resignation of its CEO, this was a unique airshow for a subdued Boeing.
It decided not to bring any of its own airliners for the first time in 16 year. In a statement, Boeing said it was prioritizing production and certification.
This also meant that flight engineers could focus on achieving certification for the much-delayed 777X, which began certification flight testing in mid-July.
In the background, there were also thoughts about who would replace the outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun. Stephanie Pope, the CEO of Boeing's commercial airplanes division, was the face of the company throughout Farnborough.
However, her background in finance could count against her. The Air Current reported Sunday that Kelly Ortberg, the former CEO of aviation tech firm Rockwell Collins, is in the running.
While Boeing didn't have a large commercial presence at this year's airshow, its military aircraft showed up.
Defense was a major theme at Farnborough this year. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer used the closed-doors opening ceremony to affirm his commitment to NATO and backing Ukraine.
By the show entrance on Wednesday, about a dozen protesters from the Campaign Against Arms Trade voiced concerns about firms profiting from the conflict in Gaza.
Boeing's F-15 and B-52 flew overhead, while the Poseidon P-8 was also on display. The company's defense arm was threatened after Boeing pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy — a felony that could jeopardize its government contracts.
With gray skies for much of the week, the weather seemed to reflect the downturn for Airbus and Boeing.