What happened at Le Bourget during the 2021 edition? Answer: nothing. For the first time since 1949, the largest aeronautics and space biennial in the world did not take place, canceled due to a pandemic. The Covid-19 failed to overwhelm the aviation sector. But, as with wine, there are great vintages in terms of professional fairs open to the public. This was the case for Le Bourget in 2003 and 2009, following major economic crises. The same is true for this 2023 edition, which follows an unprecedented four-year hiatus. “It’s the recovery show, an unmissable event”, assures Guillaume Faury, boss of Airbus and president of the Grouping of French aeronautical and space industries (Gifas), who cites three major issues: “the geopolitical context, the unavoidable decarbonization, and recruitment”. Because beware of overheating! After having put on one knee, the aeronautical sector is experiencing a strong recovery in demand, only hampered by the limitations of supply. This is suffering in particular at the level of the subcontracting chain, the supply of raw materials and the recruitment of new vital forces.
Airbus and Boeing are smiling again
Traditionally, the Paris Air Show is the scene of a confrontation between Airbus and Boeing, the two aeronautics giants signing contracts after contracts and reserving their best announcements for the occasion. Proof that the turmoil has passed, the two aircraft manufacturers have garnered numerous orders in recent months. The market initially redeployed on medium-haul flights, dominated by the Airbus A320/A321neo and the Boeing 737 Max, and is now experiencing an upturn in the long-haul side, hit hit hard by the effects of the pandemic.
But the two manufacturers experienced the crisis in very different ways. Airbus has reduced the airfoil, but maintained activity to ensure a controlled restart. The main victim was the giant A380, the production of which was discontinued. At Boeing, on the other hand, the Covid-19 was added to the crisis of the 737 Max, its best-seller banned from flying in March 2019 following two crashes which totaled 346 victims. This was only able to return to flight at the end of 2020, while the 787 also experienced an interruption in deliveries for technical reasons. The American industrialist was able to leave by excluding the accumulated stocks of devices that invaded its tarmacs and even its car parks. Consequence: the introduction of its new wide-body 777X, initially planned for 2020, has been postponed to 2025.
Airbus therefore approaches Le Bourget from a position of strength. At the end of April, its order book had more than 7,200 aircraft to deliver, including more than 6,550 in the medium-haul segment. Facing him, Boeing had more than 5,300 orders, including nearly 3,600 for the 737 Max alone. Weakened, the American aircraft manufacturer has given up developing a “mid-market” model to replace its 767, and leaves the field open to its competitor and the A321XLR, including one of the three very long-range prototypes is also one of the stars of the show.
The future of the European combat aircraft at the center of all discussions
With the war in Ukraine, the military sector is also experiencing a boost which is accompanied by a redistribution of the cards at the level of world trade: Russia finds itself ostracized, while the economic weight of China is increasing. , which settles in the ambiguous role of the partner and essential rival of all the major players in the sector. The rise in military spending on the Old Continent is unfortunately to the detriment of European programs, the urgency pushing governments – Berlin the first – to buy equipment available “off the shelf” in the United States rather than supporting long development of sovereignty. A lack of agreement between the Twenty-Seven, symbolized by a flagship program: Scaf. The “air combat system of the future”, successor to the Rafale and the Eurofighter, was launched with great fanfare in 2019 by France, Germany and Spain. But, after several years of Franco-German psychodrama, it has not yet been said that Dassault and Airbus, reluctant partners in this adventure, really agree on the new architecture of the project. Nevertheless, the recent export successes of the Rafale (92 orders last year) support the sector in France, Dassault, but also the equipment manufacturers Safran and Thales or the missile manufacturer MBDA, whose annual results beat record after record.
Whether civil or military, the recovery of the sector remains under tension because of the activity of its weak link, subcontracting, made up largely of SMEs and ETIs, particularly affected by the pandemic crisis. Admittedly, government measures have saved many jobs, but recruitment is failing in terms of vocations and the quality of training. “SMEs are unable to run their equipment because they have no one to put on it,” laments Clémentine Gallet, president of the Aero PME committee of Gifas. Even more than in previous editions, the organizers of Le Bourget 2023 have placed the emphasis on training and employment with two events: on the one hand, “L’avion des métiers”, which aims to make young people discover, high school or university students, the incredible range of professions in the sector; on the other hand “Aero is recruiting”, a real recruitment platform. “We are here to show that our industry has rediscovered job creation, and that these jobs are open to everyone,” explains Philippe Dujaric, director of social affairs and training at Gifas.
At the same time, this renewal of vital forces is coming up against growing disaffection for the sector, which has become the favored target of radical ecologists. However, decarbonization will remain as one of the highlights of this edition. The aviation sector, which has halved its emissions per flight in thirty years, remains one of the most ambitious in terms of objectives. Hydrogen, fuel cells, electric or electric hybrid aircraft, biofuels and synthetic fuels are omnipresent at the Show, both among the big players in the industry and in a plethora of start-ups supported by the various post-Covid recovery plans. “Within the Show, the Paris Air Lab aims to show the commitment of the entire transport sector and energy companies to decarbonization”, underlines Baptiste Voillequin, director of R&D at Gifas. The great challenge of tomorrow’s aviation will not be to show it, but to demonstrate it.