The business at Paris air show came to a close on 19 June after 591 commercial aircraft commitments were made across the event’s four days, according to FlightGlobal data.

A quiet final day meant the total – which covers commercial commitments from tentative agreements through to firm orders – was unchanged from that seen at the end of day three, in a show dominated by Airbus orders after Boeing chose to ramp down its presence following the fatal crash of an Air India 787-8 on 12 June.

Continued supply-chain challenges, sold-out production slates, the global trade tensions introduced by US President Donald Trump, and conflict between Israel and Iran also created a far-from-ideal backdrop for airlines and airframers to be agreeing and/or trumpeting big aircraft deals.

But of the deals announced, Airbus accounted for 69% of commitments, followed by Embraer (22%), Boeing (5%) and ATR (4%).

Airbus

Source: Philippe Tabarot

LOT Polish Airlines placed its first Airbus order, for A220s

Notably, Airbus achieved commitments covering its smallest commercial offering – the A220 – through to its largest – the A350-1000.

Overall, the commitments seen in Paris were about double the number seen at Farnborough air show last year but were low by historical standards and significantly down on the 1,266 aircraft recorded at Paris 2023. Indeed, Farnborough 2022 (441 commitments) was the only other show to see a lower total since FlightGlobal started tracking aircraft deals with the 1,526 commitments recorded at Paris 2013.

The average number of commitments at Paris and Farnborough between 2013 and 2019 was 1,180.

Despite Boeing stepping back, this year’s total could have been significantly higher had AirAsia managed to come to an agreement on a narrowbody order. Reports going into the event suggested that the low-cost group was close to ordering either the Airbus A220 or Embraer E2 jets, but even with Capital A chief executive Tony Fernandes being at the event, no deal was reached.

“We’re coming back after a very tough period [during the pandemic] and we definitely need more planes,” Fernandes told FlightGlobal in Le Bourget. “We’re in discussions.”