Safety, pollution on top of agenda

Le Bourget, June 17 

Aviation executives descended on the Paris Air Show on Monday with pledges to improve transparency over plane safety in the wake of the Boeing 737 MAX crisis and to reduce emissions.

Few blockbuster products or orders are expected at the world’s biggest aerospace show, which brings together nearly 2,500 firms from 49 countries, and 290 official delegations, including government leaders and military chiefs.

With passenger traffic slowing this year, the atmosphere at the fair, where arch-rivals Boeing and Airbus vie for aircraft orders, was markedly less self-congratulatory than in recent years.

President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the event at Le Bourget airport after flying in on a hulking grey Airbus A330 refuelling tanker operated by the French Air Force.

He then attended the unveiling of a full-size model of the new fighter jet that France and Germany are promoting as a symbol of their efforts to boost European defence autonomy at a time of growing strain in ties with the US.

The stealth plane is part of the ambitious Future Combat Air System that includes next-generation drones and missiles, which would help reduce the EU’s long reliance on US planes and equipment.

Macron then toured the vast exhibition halls at Le Bourget, where dozens of companies are touting their efforts to make flying cleaner amid criticism of airlines’ carbon emissions.

Airbus officially unveiled its A321 XLR jet, the latest iteration of its hugely popular single-aisle A320, which can now cross the Atlantic thanks to increased fuel efficiency.

That makes it an option for airlines which currently have to use bigger, fuel-hungry twin-aisle planes on longer routes. The US-based Air Lease Corporation has signed a letter of intent to buy 27 of the planes, with deliveries to start in 2023.

Executives at  Boeing faced a fresh barrage of questions about its handling of the 737 MAX crisis. — AFP

Boeing, Airbus face-off amid global slowdown

• The world’s aviation elite are gathering at the Paris Air Show with safety concerns on many minds after two crashes of the popular Boeing 737 Max
• The global economic slowdown and trade tensions between the US and other powers are also weighing on the event
• Boeing’s CEO said the company is heading into this week’s show with “humility” after the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia and Boeing’s botched communication over a cockpit warning system in the Max
• Rival Airbus is expecting some big orders despite a slow sales year so far, and is likely to unveil its long-range A320 XLR at the Paris show