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47th Paris Air Show sees records and goes “green”
By Volker K. Thomalla
The colour green has always been much in abundance at the Paris Air Show. But this year saw a pronounced change of colour in the industry, from the military olive green to the environmentally appropriate lime green. The climate protection debate was omnipresent at the air show, and everyone was keen to emphasise everything they had been doing on the issue of environmental conservation over the last few years and what they were thinking of doing over the next few years. The engine manufacturers, in particular, are hoping to decouple air travel growth from air traffic emissions through new concepts.
Air transport is responsible for only two percent of global CO2 emissions and does not want to be branded the official scapegoat. Hence the visual aspect of the industry offensive in Paris. For example CFM International had their entire stand in the hall planted with a genuine grass lawn, while the ATR72 for Kingfisher which ATR had in the static display was standing on a green carpet.
The British airline Flybe had brought a brand-new Bombardier Dash 8Q-400 in green and light blue paintwork sporting the slogan, “Low-cost, but not at any cost” in order to draw attention to its own eco-programme with which it plans to offset its CO2 emissions.
In aviation, ecology and economy go hand-in-hand. Aircraft which consume less fuel are not only more environmentally friendly but they also incur lower costs. In view of the steadily rising price of energy, the airlines are extremely interested in steadily cutting back the fuel consumption of their fleets still further.
The demand for new aircraft has never been so high in Paris. Modern commercial aircraft were ordered in three-digit numbers. Countries with developing air transport such as India and China were not even the main customers behind these orders. European and American airlines also signed new sales contracts to inject the latest technology into their fleets. This combination of demand due to growth in developing countries and demand in pursuit of modernisation among established airlines resulted in orders worth billions for the manufacturers. Airbus alone posted 425 firm orders for new aircraft.
Visitors gained the opportunity to find out about the products and services of 2,000 exhibitors from 42 nations. This is 75 exhibitors more than at the last Paris Air Show two years ago and is a record for any air show. The cumulative value of the orders announced at the show came to over $100 billion – a historic all-time high. As we went to press the final visitors' figures were not yet available, but the organisers were very pleased with the onslaught of visitors especially on the first few days which are reserved for trade visitors.
Distinctly fewer new aircraft were unveiled than two years ago. That year the Airbus A380 was the main attraction, drawing in thousands of spectators. This year the biggest commercial aircraft in the world also exercised a magnetic effect on the public, although most of the visitors had already seen it before.
Brand-new on the other hand were the Antonov An-148, a twin-engine regional aircraft from the Ukraine, and the BA609 tilt rotor aircraft from Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company. The tilt rotor aircraft, which takes off and lands like a helicopter but once airborne flies like a turboprop aircraft with its propellers and engine nacelles rotated towards the front, impressed many with the agility and low noise emissions which it demonstrated during its daily air displays. Dassault also brought a new aircraft to the French capital city in the form of its new business jet, the Falcon 2000LX (see FLUG REVUE 7/2007).
From FLUG REVUE 8/2007
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