Farnborough Airshow kicks off: Can Boeing turn the page? Will Airbus take advantage?

22.07.2024 - 13:24 / thepointsguy.com / Paris Airshow

One of the biggest events in the airline industry begins on Monday as the famed Farnborough International Airshow kicks off just outside of London.

Farnborough alternates each year with the Paris Airshow as the flagship event for European and American aerospace. The annual shows offer the chance for plane-makers, component manufacturers, suppliers, airline customers, and everyone else throughout the aviation supply chain to show off their latest products, finalize or start the process of making sales and deals and meet to manage industry issues.

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This year's show marks the third European airshow since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, and there are a few big announcements and exciting products on display. Among those are a new iteration of Qatar's award-winning QSuite business class seat and Air India's new Airbus A350 cabins.

This time, however, Farnborough begins with a radically different backdrop than the past several shows, including several conspicuous absences.

Boeing has spent nearly the entirety of 2024 in crisis following the Jan. 5 decompression aboard an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, which occurred when a "door plug" fell from the aircraft, leaving a hole in the fuselage. The subsequent investigation has shown that the piece was removed and reinstalled by Boeing workers without crucial bolts holding it in place during manufacturing. The pilots landed the plane a few minutes later with no serious injuries among any of the passengers or crew.

Read more: What to know about the Boeing 737 MAX 9 and the MAX series

The incident reopened intense scrutiny of Boeing that had been mostly dormant since the 737 MAX reentered service in late-2020, following a 20-month global grounding of the fleet after the second of two fatal crashes. Public attention has refocused on the planemaker's safety and quality control processes, while everything from insignificant and routine maintenance issues to more serious mechanical issues generated breaking news headlines amid a hyperfocus on air travel during the first few months of the year.

The crisis came at a sensitive time for the planemaker, with Boeing and European rival Airbus struggling to meet production goals amid ongoing supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic. For Boeing, ongoing development and certification delays of its new 777X widebody program, along with the 737 MAX 7 and 10 — the smallest and largest variants of its narrowbody program — have led to mounting frustrations from airline customers.

For Boeing, the show offers a chance to reassure customers and manage relationships with vendors as it seeks to bring its commercial division back on track.