- About 60,000 trade delegates at Singapore show, a record number
- Attendees say supply chain concerns linger after pandemic
- China’s COMAC makes first C919 flight outside home market
Close to 60,000 people attended the four trade days of the show, nearly four times as many as in 2022.
More than 1,000 commercial and defence companies from 50 countries participated in the show.
Delegates stepped into the tropical heat for around an hour of aerial displays each day, including demonstration flights by air force teams from Singapore, South Korea and India, among others, and a fly-by by the C919, made by China’s COMAC. It was the first flight outside Chinese territory for COMAC’s homegrown jet.
COMAC was also the first company to announce orders at the show, flagging a deal with Tibet Airlines for 40 C919 single-aisle planes and 10 ARJ21 regional jets, plus six ARJ21s for China’s Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group.
Shortly afterwards, Royal Brunei Airlines said it was ordering four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Airbus announced an order for five A350 freighters and three A330neo widebody passenger jets from Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines. Airbus also had a provisional deal with Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet for 20 A330neo wide-body airliners.
Sustainability was in focus, with Singapore announcing a green jet fuel mandate to be funded by a levy on travellers and air show organisers stressing the importance of protecting the environment, but the industry remains divided over how to achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
