Jolly good show (for freighters)

The 2016 edition of the Farnborough Air Show saw a considerable reduction in orders compared to recent shows, but on the freighter side of things, there was plenty of good news. Seven customers signed orders for forty-two freighters/freighter conversions, and an eighth customer signed a commitment for two conversions.

• Volga-Dnepr Group firmed its previous MoU for twenty 747-8FRs. We note that Volga-Dnepr subsidiaries AirBridgeCargo and CargoLogicAir have already taken delivery of four of the twenty.

• DHL Express became the launch customer for EFW’s A330-300P2F conversion program with a four-unit order.

• Brazil-based Bravo Industries became the launch customer for Lockheed Martin’s LM-100J – the new commercial variant of the Hercules military transport with a ten-unit order.

• Two carriers, Bulgaria-based Cargo Air and Colombia-based Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas (LAS) Cargo, firmed earlier commitments for Boeing’s recently launched 737-800BCF, while Air Algerie signed an MoU for two conversions.

• An unidentified customer firm-ordered four 767-300BCF conversions.

In the not-so-good-news department, not only were there considerably fewer orders placed for commercial jets overall this year (526, down 36% from 2015), but, as a quick glance a the chart will show, widebody passenger aircraft were almost missing from the action. Airbus booked orders for eleven A330 and A350 Family aircraft, while Boeing received seventeen firm orders and five commitments for 787s.

Turning to regional jets and turboprop aircraft, the picture was similar, with orders and commitments down 33% from last year to just 114 this year (see chart below). And other than the above-mentioned launch order for Lockheed Martin’s new commercial variant of the Hercules military transport, almost all the orders were for jets, not turboprops. Bombardier and Viking each picked up three firm orders (for Q400s and Twin Otters, respectively) and Viking signed an MoU for six more. As far as we can tell, though, there was not a single order placed for an ATR aircraft of any variant.