Flight International

After a hectic first three days of headline making, Paris must be slowing down, as Reuters took time out to interview actor, pilot and show visitor John Travolta, "looking relaxed and wearing sunglasses and trainers" (obviously not a journalist, then). He talks about flying the A380, which Reuters, ever the business newswire, uses as an opportunity to mention the A380 delays and EADS troubles. "I was the first non-test pilot to fly that and I'm telling you it's a very easy plane to fly, but technically complicated," he says. Travolta says he is due to fly Boeing's F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter at Paris on Saturday, but insists he is not at the show shopping for something to park next to the 707 on his private runway.

Day 3 here at the Paris air show and the intake of caffeine is frightening as the long days begin to catch up with us all.

Here's a piece of Paris news that might get lost in the deluge of Airbus and Boeing order annoucements, but has a key role to play in ensuring all those aircraft actually get delivered. Canada's CAE has signed agreements to develop and manage two training schools in India, which together will produce more than 400 new pilots a year to feed the country's rapidly growing airlines. CAE will manage and upgrade the Indian government's Indra Gandhi flight training academy and develop a new National Flying Training Institute in a joint venture with the Airport Authority of India. India needs 5,000 new pilots over the next five years, twice the number now active, so even the ability to train 400 a year domestically - 600-plus with the new MPL multi-crew pilot license, says CAE - leaves a big gap to be filled by foreign flight schools.

Day 2 at the shed and with multiple bacon sandwiches devoured the team are furiously trying to find out the latest from the Paris air show.

The weather seems to be holding at overcast, which is fantastic for us as there is a growing suspicion that our office has a leak in it.

What has been a god-send for all the journalists is a train-like carrier service, that circles the showground and enables the journalists to rest their weary legs as they try and make the next Boeing announcement.

I am not at Paris with my Flight colleagues, so I can review the day's events from the air-conditioned comfort of my Washington, DC office. Looks like things went much as expected: Airbus and Boeing squaring off in the orders battle as Rafale and Typhoon duked it out for flying display honours. A couple of things caught my eye. One was the comment by Boeing Commercial Airplanes' boss Scott Carson that the timeline for a 737 replacement is being paced by advances in engine technology. Not a surprising comment, but one that makes clear the engine makers are under the gun to produce improvements that will take the heat off airlines as they labour under disproportionate blame for global warning. The other was the agreement between the US FAA and European Commission aimed at reducing CO2 emissions on transatlantic flights through air traffic management measures. Carson says, and I agree, that ATM improvements offer "the quickest and greatest short-term gains in reducing emissions". While the engine manufacturers get on with the "hard" stuff, the air transport industry needs to move quickly to do the "easy" stuff and show the public it is taking global warming seriously.

There was a time when the first day of a Paris show would be marked by the unveiling of new airliners, business jets and fighters. Not so much these days. Except in the unmanned sector. According to the latest issue of Peter La Franchi's Flight Unmanned newsletter, Italy's Alenia Aeronautica has taken the wraps off its Sky-Y and Israel's Elbit Systems has unveiled its Hermes 900 - both medium-altitude long-endurance UAVs - at Le Bourget. And a trek through the halls and displays will probably uncover others. This begs the question, what does the future hold? UAVs have already flown at one or two shows and there are now special air shows just for UAVs. I suspect more than few people leaving the show tonight through Paris traffic would welcome the prospect of a totally unmanned air show - unmanned exhibits, unmanned chalets, unmanned police checkpoints...

The afternoon has begun with a showcase of a multitude of different aircraft; from the Airbus A380 (which was noticeable for its surprising quietness despite its impressive size) to the Eurofighter Typhoon (which was fast and unsurprisingly loud)

The variation in aircraft has been matched by the eclectic selection of music. Sitting in the editorial office, we have been treated to the Top Gun instrumental, Land of Hope and Glory and everybody's favourite Country and Western anthem, Sweet Home Alabama.

What's going to come next, who knows?

There was a time a year or two back when you would often hear aerospace companies bemoaning the fact that there were too many air shows, and that they no longer had the resources or inclination to go to all of them.

Judging by this morning's frantic activity on the opening day of the 2007 Paris air show, nothing could be further from people's minds.

Exhibitors have been falling over themselves today to grab a share of the limelight and our reporting team is bravely attempting to keep pace. Although we can usually hazard a pretty good guess about what might be announced, there have already been a few surprises.

The Paris air show week begins today and already there is a frenzied excitement as all the journalists scurry around to find out the latest news.