Paris Air Show Preview

The commercial aerospace industry will have plenty to talk about at the 49th Paris Air Show (June 20-26), even if Boeing—as appeared likely at this writing—has little new to say about how it will respond to the competitive challenge posed by the Airbus A320neo and Bombardier CSeries. Indeed, this year’s event occurs as no fewer than seven new aircraft development programs are either underway (A350 XWB, CSeries, COMAC C919, Irkut MC-21, Mitsubishi Regional Jet) or on the verge of service entry (787, 747-8), and that does not include the A320neo. Additionally, the first Sukhoi Superjet 100 was delivered to Armavia in April and AVIC’s ARJ-21 regional jet is expected to enter service this year.

Regarding the reinvigorated competition in the single-aisle market, Chairman and CEO James McNerney poured cold water on the notion that Boeing will announce a successor to the 737NG at Le Bourget, suggesting during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in late April that a decision is likely “by the end of the year,” with an all-new airplane being the favored solution rather than a re-engine of the 737.

That, of course, is the same thinking the manufacturer has espoused for more than 18 months, with the only change being that EIS for a new aircraft family now is talked about in a 2019-20 timeframe rather than the middle of the following decade, as had been the case until last year. Whether Boeing is truly undecided or merely pretending to play the Dane as Airbus revs up the neo program is unknown. With orders, commitments and LOIs for more than 500 in four months, Airbus has pushed forward service entry for the re-engined aircraft to October 2015 from 2016, giving it as much as a five-year head start versus an all-new aircraft from Boeing that enters service in late 2020.

Excitement exists on the engine side as well with the return of Pratt & Whitney to the narrowbody segment on a standalone basis for the first time since production of the MD-80 ceased in the late 1990s. At press time, the company’s PW1000G had been selected over CFM International’s Leap-X by all A320neo customers that had made an engine choice, causing Airbus to designate it the lead development engine on the program. CFM, meanwhile, enjoys Western exclusivity on the C919. The PW1000 is exclusive to the CSeries and MRJ and is the sole Western powerplant on the MC-21. Rolls-Royce and Pratt recently agreed to extend their partnership in International Aero Engines, which supplies the V2500 series engine for the current A320 family, through 2045.

Elsewhere, Rolls is preparing to support service entry of the Trent 1000 on ANA’s first 787, having received 330-min. ETOPS approval from US FAA in May. And it now appears that both major variants of GE’s GEnx will enter service not long after one another on the 747-8F and 787.

Organizers of the show said exhibition space for the biennial event has been sold out since late 2010 and predicted this year’s edition will have a modern feel with free high-speed Wi-Fi available onsite. More than 2,000 exhibitors are expected, along with 140,000 trade visitors from 140 countries. Organizers said they have invested $15 million in facilities at the exhibition center and $3 million in the renovation and upgrading of 350 chalets for the 2011 edition.

In keeping with a green theme, a feature of this year’s event will be an “Alternative Aviation Fuels Display” in Exhibition Hall 3. The US Air Transport Assn., the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa will be among those presenting.

At press time, commercial aircraft scheduled to appear at the show included: From Airbus the A380 and A300-B2; from Antonov the AN158; from Boeing the 787 and 747-8F with a 777-300ER from Qatar Airways. Bombardier was set to bring the  CRJ1000 NextGen and Q400 NextGen, Sukhoi the SSJ100 and ATR its newest variants of the ATR 42 and 72, the -600 version. Embraer is participating with the Legacy 650 business jet.