Jetrader - September/October 2012 - 18

Only two jetliners dared to show their tricks to the public: the 787 and the A380. Both demo routines were equally impressive—the A380 because of its massive size and the 787 because of its elegant design, especially the wings.
On the commercial side, the static show this year was dominated by two aircraft: a MAS-liveried Airbus A380 and a Boeing 787 in Qatar colors. While the A380 now is a familiar—and still welcome—sight at most air shows, this was the ﬁrst time a production standard 787 was on display. Apart from their ﬂ agships, the big two didn’t show too much other metal (or carbon ﬁber). Airbus showed an ACJ318 and—more interestingly—just for one day, a Sharklet-equipped A320. Not to be outdone, Boeing displayed a Korean 737-900ER, plus next to it, a full-scale model of their “Sharklet-killer,” the new AT Winglet for the 737 MAX. While winglets are primarily intended to improve aerodynamics and save fuel, they are also very visible and a way to show how advanced the design of an aircraft is. It must be said, the sexy looking AT Winglet is an excellent image builder, and I can’t wait to see the ﬁrst models. Other planes in the static display area included an Embraer E-190 and an ERJ145, a Sukhoi Superjet, a Bombardier CRJ-1000, plus the ATR72 and Bombardier Q400 turboprops. The Superjet was painted in Aeroﬂot livery and looked very “western.” Interestingly enough, Embraer showed its E-Jet in the somewhat special livery of Aerosvit. From a distance, the yellow and blue plane initially came across as a typical Russian design, maybe a Tupolev? Funny enough, your author wasn’t the only one making this mistake, as even the experts from AviationWeek identiﬁed the Aerosvit E-190 as a Sukhoi Superjet in their magazine (ShowNews 11/7, page 24)! The ﬂight displays were dominated by military aircraft, occasionally including an old Lancaster and the ever-impressive B-52. Only two jetliners dared to show their tricks to the public: the 787 and the A380. Both demo routines were equally impressive—the A380 because of its massive size and the 787 because of its elegant design, especially the wings. Fortunately the sun came through during the ﬂight displays, which resulted in the dramatic sight of a sunlit aircraft against a backdrop of ash-grey rainclouds. Apart from airplanes, from time to time a business tycoon could be spotted. Richard Branson was there as he continued to expand his Virgin Empire by announcing the Virgin LauncherOne, aimed at the small satellite launcher market. A slightly less successful tycoon was spotted as well, when Kingﬁsher’s Vijay Mallya landed in his personal helicopter, appropriately registered as G-IVJM. Now we will move from the show elements to the more serious business concerns. Many debates focused on the question of whether the manufacturers are building not enough or too many aircraft. The manufacturers generally take the position that they should increase production because demand is there, but their biggest bottle-neck is claimed to be the supply chain. Will all those sub-contractors be able to supply the necessary quantities of widgets of the right aerospace quality? The other side of the debate includes many bankers, investors and some lessors. They fear that all the 737s and A320s leaving the factories in Seattle, Toulouse, Hamburg, Tianjin and in the future, Alabama, will cause an oversupply resulting in depressed used equipment values and lease rates, and besides, where is all the ﬁnancing coming from? This is not the place for such a debate, but it seems at least some of the leasing companies had found enough money to go out on a shopping spree once more. Our industry’s godfather, Steven Udvar-Hazy, opened the dance with an order for 60 of the 737 MAX-8 and 9s, not unexpectedly of course despite earlier criticism for re-engined aircraft designs. Maybe Hazy

Shelter for ISTAT members: Ron Pietrzak welcomes members to the ISTAT Chalet.

Sir Richard Branson announces the Virgin LauncherOne space project.

Boeing displayed a full-scale model of their “Sharklet-killer,” the new AT Winglet for the 737 MAX.

18 The ofﬁcial publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

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Jetrader - September/October 2012

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