Farnborough International Airshow opens with orders in focus but expectations tempered
The aerospace industry's marquee gathering runs 20-24 July, with Airbus and Boeing chasing deals against supply-chain constraints and a record order backlog.
The Farnborough International Airshow opens on Monday for its 2026 edition, running through Friday at the Hampshire showground that has staged the aerospace industry's marquee gathering for decades. Billed by organisers as "the must-attend event in the aerospace calendar," this year's show is built around six themes, spanning global security, advanced technology and AI, supply chain, sustainability, finance and the future workforce, alongside a dedicated Space Zone, a defence area for smaller firms, and the flying and static displays that draw a crowd of more than 100,000 across the week.
As ever, the headline story will be written at the commercial aircraft chalets, where Airbus and Boeing court airlines and lessors. The mood this year looks more measured. Industry reporting on the eve of the show pointed to the two manufacturers announcing a little over 300 aircraft between them, well short of the 800-plus some analysts had floated, as engine shortages and supply-chain bottlenecks blunt the appetite for headline numbers. For comparison, the 2024 edition produced roughly $106 billion in announced orders at list prices.
Several campaigns are still live. A narrowbody order of around 100 jets from each manufacturer by the Irish lessor SMBC Aviation Capital has been widely trailed, while Etihad Airways is reported to be close to a deal for Boeing 787 widebodies. Philippine Airlines could split a widebody order between the 787 and the Airbus A350, and carriers including Riyadh Air, Turkish Airlines and Air India have surfaced in pre-show speculation, though nothing is firm until it is signed.
Beyond the order book, Farnborough increasingly doubles as a shop window for defence, space and next-generation air mobility, with electric air-taxi prototypes and autonomous systems sharing the ramp with the latest airliners. With Airbus and Boeing sitting on a combined backlog of some 16,000 aircraft, this week is less about filling order books than signalling where the industry heads next.
