Geopolitical Tensions, Tariffs and Tragedy to Shadow Paris Air Show
PARIS: War, tariffs and the deadly Air India crash will cast a shadow over the Paris Air Show as the aerospace industry's biggest annual gathering opens on Monday (Jun 17).
More than 2,400 companies from 48 countries are set to display aircraft and aerospace technology during the week-long event at Le Bourget airfield, just outside the French capital.
The fierce commercial battle between Airbus and Boeing typically dominates headlines, as the world's two top civil aircraft manufacturers announce blockbuster orders.
But this year's show 'is much more complex,' said Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury, who also chairs the board of the Gifas association of French aerospace firms, which organises the biennial event.
GROWING CHALLENGES
Russia's war in Ukraine has entered its fourth year, and fears are mounting of a broader Middle East conflict after Israel struck targets in Iran on Friday, disrupting commercial aviation across the region.
The recent crash of an Air India-operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which killed at least 265 people, has also shaken the industry. The disaster marks the first fatal crash of a 787 and comes as Boeing continues efforts to recover from past safety and production issues.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has cancelled his plans to attend the show to focus on the investigation.
Both Boeing and Airbus have also been facing delivery delays due to lingering global supply chain disruptions. Airbus, in particular, is experiencing bottlenecks including a shortage of fuel-efficient engines for its A320 jets and even a lack of aircraft lavatories for its wide-body models.
TRADE PRESSURES
Adding to the strain is US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plan. In April, Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on imports from nearly every country, with steeper duties for dozens of others under consideration.
The aerospace sector, reliant on global supply chains, is especially vulnerable. Trump's administration is weighing tariffs of 10 to 20 per cent specifically on civil aircraft and parts.
Faury and Ortberg have both called for tariffs to be reset to zero, as had been the case since a 1979 agreement.
'The entire Western aerospace industry considers that would be the best that could happen,' said Faury.
Ortberg told Aviation Week the tariffs are an 'added cost' Boeing cannot absorb, warning they come just as the company is trying to rebuild financially.
'I'm hopeful that, as each of these country-by-country negotiations resolve, those tariffs will go away in the long run,' he said.
DEFENCE IN FOCUS
While civil aviation struggles, the defence sector is gaining prominence. European nations have boosted defence budgets amid the war in Ukraine and concerns over Trump's commitment to NATO.
'The geostrategic environment has led us to bolster this aspect which was in the background in previous years,' said Gifas head Frederic Parisot.
About 75 defence-related firms will participate in this year's event, showcasing military jets, helicopters and drones.
Highlights include Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter and France's Rafale jet by Dassault Aviation. Nine Israeli companies are expected to exhibit, despite an unsuccessful legal attempt by NGOs to ban their participation over their alleged role in the Gaza conflict.
BOEING UNDER SCRUTINY
The crash of the Boeing Dreamliner has cast a long shadow just days before the show. The aircraft had been seen as a centrepiece of Boeing's renewed push under new leadership to restore confidence.
Boeing's absence from the air show's executive stage will be noted amid investigations, and the crash is likely to dominate conversations throughout the event.
The industry also remains on edge due to unresolved supply chain fragilities dating back to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding further uncertainty to production and delivery timelines.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
PSG inspired by Los Angeles as it sets out to build new stadium
LOS ANGELES :Paris St Germain is drawing inspiration from the success of new state-of-the-art venues in Los Angeles as the Champions League title winners begin the process of building a new stadium for the team, CEO Victoriano Melero said. PSG has outgrown the 48,000-capacity Parc des Princes, and team officials will spend a year studying potential sites in Massy and Poissy with an eye toward offering a variety of entertainment options, Melero said. "The next challenge is a new stadium," Melero told Reuters in Los Angeles ahead of PSG's Club World Cup match on Sunday in Pasadena. "For one year we're going to go into an analysis and make a choice for our future, and we're inspired by what is going on in the U.S. with sports facilities," he said. "One example here is SoFi Stadium. It's incredible and much more than a sports facility - it really is part of entertainment and shows. So that is what we really want to push to diversify our revenue." SoFi Stadium, a technological marvel that opened in 2020, is home to the NFL's Rams and Chargers and has hosted concerts by artists like Taylor Swift and Beyonce. It will play a key role in next summer's World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The $5 billion stadium is located in Hollywood Park, a growing commercial and residential area. The 70,000-capacity indoor-outdoor stadium sits next to Intuit Dome, the high-tech NBA arena that opened last year. PSG is looking at Massy, south of Paris, and Poissy, west of the French capital, as potential sites for a new stadium. The team will play Parc des Princes for the foreseeable future while the new stadium is built. U.S. fans and investors have played a vital role in the stunning success of the club both on and off the field, said Adrien Frier, the French consul-general in Los Angeles. "Paris St Germain is what you would call in the tech sector a unicorn, and it's a unicorn that has some American blood in it," he said at a reception honoring the team in Beverly Hills, where the Champions League trophy was on display. PSG has an estimated five million fans in the U.S. and has benefited from its high-profile partnership with Nike's iconic Air Jordan brand. U.S.-based Arctos Partners holds 12.5 per cent of the shares of the team, with majority owner Qatar Sports Investments owning the remaining 87.5 per cent for a club that is valued at $4.4 billion. Melero said the team's ambitions are only growing. "We wrote the story of the club with that cup," he said, gesturing toward the gleaming trophy.
CNA
21 hours ago
- CNA
India launches inspection of Boeing 787s after Air India crash
AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: India's government is urgently inspecting all Boeing 787s after a devastating Air India crash that claimed at least 270 lives this week, the aviation minister said on Saturday (Jun 14), adding that the authorities were investigating all possible causes. The aviation regulator on Friday ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests and engine fuel-related checks. "We have also given the order to do the extended surveillance of the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian fleet," aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu told a media briefing in New Delhi. "Eight have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done." Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, while rival airline IndiGo has one, according to data from Flightradar24. The planes, however, have not been grounded, but a source on Friday told Reuters the Indian government was considering that as an option. Naidu also said the government will look at all possible theories of what led to the crash. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after takeoff on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. At least 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the plane crash, Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at BJ Medical College, told reporters. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew onboard survived while others were killed as the plane struck the medical college's hostel as it came down. The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild its reputation and revamp its fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022. Tata's chairman said on Friday the group wants to understand what happened, but "we don't know right now". Naidu said a government panel was investigating the crash and will issue a report within three months. "We are going to improve every necessary thing that is going to come our way, to improve the safety," he said at the briefing, declining questions from journalists. LONG WAIT FOR FAMILIES Dozens of anxious family members have been waiting outside an Ahmedabad hospital to collect bodies of loved ones killed in the crash, as doctors were working overtime to gather dental samples from the deceased to run identification checks and DNA profiling. Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives in the incident, said he was not getting any answers from authorities and was "very hassled". "We have lost our children ... we are not understanding anything. Please help us get information about our children. Tell us when they are going to release their bodies," Memon said. Another father was upset about not being able to get the body of his son, Harshad Patel, saying he was told by authorities it will take 72 hours for DNA profiling. "The authorities are trying to help but our patience is running out," he said. Most bodies in the crash were badly charred and authorities are using dental samples to run identification checks. Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters on Friday they had the dental records of 135 charred victims, which can then be matched through reference to victims' prior dental charts, radiographs or other records. Even for doctors, things are getting difficult, as the plane struck a hostel building of the BJ Medical College, where many of the dead are undergoing identification checks. "Most of us are struggling with our emotions and are mentally disturbed because of the loss of friends and colleagues," said one doctor who did not wish to be named.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Boeing resumes China deliveries with 787-9 jet to Juneyao Airlines, Yicai reports
BEIJING/HONG KONG - Boeing delivered a new 787-9 aircraft to China's Juneyao Airlines on June 14, Chinese media outlet Yicai reported, as trade tensions between Beijing and Washington ease. The delivery comes two days after a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board crashed in a fireball shortly after takeoff in western India. Boeing and Juneyao Airlines did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment on the Yicai report. The US aerospace giant had suspended new aircraft deliveries to China in April as President Donald Trump's tariff war escalated between the world's two largest economies. Boeing said at the end of May that deliveries would resume this month after the tariffs were temporarily scaled back for 90 days. China and the US concluded two days of negotiations in London on June 10 to resolve key trade issues in the two superpowers' bruising tariff war, where negotiators from Washington and Beijing agreed on a framework covering tariff rates. On June 9, a new Boeing 737 MAX painted in the livery of Xiamen Airlines landed in China, adding to signs that the planemaker was resuming deliveries to China. The country represents about 10 per cent of Boeing's commercial backlog and is an important and growing aviation market. Boeing had previously said customers in China would not take delivery of new planes due to the tariffs and that it was looking to resell potentially dozens of aircraft. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
