The second day of the Farnborough Airshow finished with a sprinkling of rain instead of the expected thunderstorms, which was a perfect metaphor for the order book at the show. But through the record heat, with UK records being broken and the air conditioning at many chalets struggling to keep up, orders came through in drips and drops throughout the day.
A quiet day for orders was won by Boeing, Embraer and ATR
Boeing scored the most orders of the day, with low-cost carrier parent group 777 partners — owner of Canadian startup Flair and new Australian entrant Bonza — placing a large (for the 2022 show) order for the 737 MAX. The group will take “up to 66” 737 MAXes, of which a firm 30 are for the 737-8-200 ultra-high-density version of the MAX 8, initially designed with Ryanair. 777 Partners says that more low-cost carriers along the lines of Flair and Bonza are “to follow”.
Lessor Aviation Capital was also identified as a previously undisclosed customer for a further twelve 737 MAX 8 aircraft, bringing the company’s total MAX order book to 34.
Still on lessors, AerCap — the biggest customer for the Boeing 787 — signed for an additional five 787-9 Dreamliners for lease customers, for a total of 125 of the family of aircraft active or on order.
Rounding out the Boeing orders at the show is a nine-aircraft converted freighter deal with lessor BBAM for 737-800BCFs. The first of these aircraft will be the first off the new BCF line at MRO shop KF Aerospace in Kelowna, British Columbia.
(In a slightly odd announcement of a customer press release distributed by WhatsApp that doesn’t appear on either the airline’s or Boeing’s websites, Boeing said that it and VietJet “successfully reached an agreement to reaffirm the previously announced order for 200 737 MAX aircraft”, half of which was initially announced in 2016, and the other half three years later. We don’t think this counts as an order, but are including it for completeness.)
On the Airbus side of the show, Delta topped up its Airbus A220 small airliner fleet this morning with an additional twelve of the larger A220-300, which in Delta’s configuration seats 130 passengers. The airline — which you’ll remember took of the significantly larger 737 MAX 10 yesterday — will eventually operate 107 of the A220 in its fleet.
A flurry of activity in the regional jet and turboprop market included a twenty-aircraft Embraer E195-E2 buy from Canadian regional airline Porter. The carrier is in the midst of expanding its previously turboprop operations to more Canadian cities using regional jets, and this makes a total of 50 firm orders and 50 purchase rights for the re-engined longest E-Jet from Porter.
Alaska Airlines’ parent group also topped up its orders for regional subsidiary Horizon’s fleet of E175 jets, with eight of the first-generation E-Jets on firm order and options for 13 more. Deliveries will start next year.
Newly merged lessor Abelo topped up its ATR orders with a new contract for ten ATR 72-600s, as well as confirmation of the contract signed previously with predecessor company Elix for ten of the short takeoff and landing ATR 42-600S. Abelo is certainly also in the stakes for most attractive leasing company livery of the show, thanks to its eyecatchingly bright turquoise branding — an improvement on what can often be bland and corporate liveries-that-will-never-fly.
And lastly, Japanese regional carrier ORC (Oriental Air Bridge) signed for a single ATR 42-600, to serve the remote islands around Japan’s west, based in Nagasaki.
Airbus’ announcements largely focussed on technologies
Airbus has certified its A330-based MRTT tanker for daylight automatic air-to-air refuelling via the aircraft’s boom, together with the Republic of Singapore Air Force and with the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology.
The airframer also issued what was possibly the oddest-looking photograph of the day with the announcement that its venerable MSN001 A380 testbed will carry an open-fan engine demonstrator in partnership with CFM International. Part of the enginemaker’s RISE programme, the open-fan nacelle will be mounted in the engine two position on the inboard left-hand side of the aircraft.
The goal is to improve the understanding of how engine-wing integration works for open-fan engines, research aerodynamic performance, test efficiency gains of the propulsive system, validate those benefits, evaluate acoustic modelling and ensure sustainable aviation fuel compatibility to a full 100 percent.
The flight test campaign will start in “in the second half of this decade” and be run out the Airbus Flight Test centre in Toulouse.
Sustainability was once again a key theme
The morning started bright and early at Raytheon Technologies for a very useful panel discussion with Collins Aerospace’s chief sustainability officer LeAnn Ridgeway, Pratt & Whitney’s chief sustainable officer Graham Webb, and trade association Airlines for Europe’s managing director Thomas Reynaert.
Discussion ranged widely, with a focus on the need for both sustainable aviation fuels and new technologies in aircraft/engines to do the heavy lifting in order to achieve goals like European aviation’s Destination 2050.
We’re talking sustainability this morning at the @RaytheonTech #FIA2022 chalet with @A4Europe’s managing director and the @CollinsAero and @prattandwhitney chief sustainability officers. pic.twitter.com/u9m4XczFpR
— Yocova (@yocova_) July 19, 2022
On the hydrogen front, easyJet and Rolls-Royce announced a new partnership called H2ZERO with the goal of developing hydrogen combustion engine technology, “including those in the narrow-body market segment”. Testing will start with an AE2100 engine early concept ground test this year in the UK, followed by a full-scale ground test using a Pearl 15 jet at an as-yet undecided location.
And additionally…
Your author enjoyed a moment of quiet (and, with ground air conditioning, relatively cool) reflection on the flight deck of the Airbus A350-900 parked on static display this afternoon.
Join us for a moment of reflection inside the modern flight deck of the @Airbus A350.
One of the pure professional (and indeed personal) pleasures of an airshow like #FIA2022. pic.twitter.com/ueTcnhz1R0
— Yocova (@yocova_) July 19, 2022
Much less quiet and reflective, meanwhile, was the thunderous roar of the Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning as it demonstrated its full hover capabilities. Adjust your volume levels before clicking play…
One last @FIAFarnborough flight display for the day: it’s the @LockheedMartin F-35 Lightning, in its amazing full hover — so unmute with care and consideration for any ears within range! #FIA2022 pic.twitter.com/CVtWd5kF7w
— Yocova (@yocova_) July 19, 2022
That’s all for day two of the show — join us again bright and early for Wednesday’s news!
Author: John Walton
Published 19th July 2022
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