Investing.com - The Paris Air Show, held annually in a suburb outside of Paris, normally features a raft of high-profile deals among some of the aviation industry’s biggest names, but this year’s event has been more subdued following a deadly Air India crash last week.
With the show now open exclusively to trade visitors for one more day, Europe’s Airbus has said it has secured a total of 148 orders worth $14.2 billion, along with 102 provisional orders worth $6.7 billion, according to Reuters, citing estimated delivery prices from U.K. firm Cirium Ascend. On Wednesday, the jetmaker said it had notched an order for 10 long-haul jets from Taiwan’s Starlux Airlines.
Yet Airbus rival Boeing (NYSE:BA)’s activity has been muted following the crash of Air India Flight 171, which involved one of its Dreamliner planes. Reports have said that at least 270 people were killed both in the plane and on the ground.
Although the cause of the crash has yet to be formally determined, the incident comes as Boeing has been grappling with prior concerns around its safety record.
Boeing, which was already expected to have a quiet Paris Air Show after it announced massive deals during President Donald Trump’s recent Middle East visit, has unveiled no new announcements.
Airbus, for its part, has also expressed condolences for the victims of the Air India crash.
"We are not surprised by Boeing’s lack of order activity during the airshow given the recent 787 crash as well as the strong order activity leading up to the airshow," analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a note to clients.
However, the brokerage noted "growing confidence" in Boeing’s supply chain stability, as well as sector-wide "strength" in demand for aftermarket equipment and services.
A possible ramp-up in spending on defense by European governments was also a focus this year, the RBC strategists said, adding that this is "incrementally positive for U.S. defense firms" and marks a slight shift in tone from a recent wave of interest in buying European stocks. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX) were seen as two possible beneficiaries of the trend.