Visitors streaming into the 51st Paris Air Show this morning will find plentiful novelty and variety from the more-than 2,200 exhibitors who have flocked to the French capital from around 45 different countries. In addition to the eagerly-anticipated world premier of Bombardier’s CSeries airliners, other Le Bourget debutantes this week include the Dassault Falcon 8X business jet, Textron AirLand Scorpion jet trainer, Cessna Grand Caravan EX special missions demonstrator and new version of Airbus’s E-Fan electric aircraft.
In fact, at an even 100, the total aircraft count for the 2015 show is markedly down compared to the 2013 event, when there were no fewer than 150 present. However, based on the aerial performances seen during validation flying in the past few days, quality will more than make up for reduced quantity.
That said, there are some notable and surprising absentees from the year’s show. Sweden’s Saab is not exhibiting. Nor is UK-based BAE Systems, apparently following the lead of the U.S. Northrop Grumman group, which deserted the Le Bourget show in 2011. “In line with our practice of regularly reviewing our presence at international events and exhibitions, BAE Systems has decided it will not be attending the 2015 Paris Air Show,” said a company spokesperson.
The Paris show is expected to feature around as many official military and civil delegations as it did two years ago: 285 groups from just more than 100 countries. In 2013, there were almost 140,000 professional visitors from 181 countries during the first four trade-only days of the event. This Friday has been designated as “students day” and will have a special focus on aerospace careers.
Over the weekend, leading airframers were playing down expectations that this year’s show could see new aircraft orders on a par with the strong figures logged at the 2013 Paris show. However, sources close to Boeing, did indicated that some new business will be conducted this week.