Paris Air Show 2007

The Show

The Paris Air Show and the Farnborough Air Show in London alternate each year as the aviation industry's main event. This year, it's Paris.

There'll be more than 2,000 exhibitors, including Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Department of Defense. Alongside the Le Bourget airfield, major companies rent "chalets" — prefab buildings erected just for the show and appointed with varying degrees of luxury and marketing panache — where aviation VIPs meet and do business. The best chalets have terraces facing the airfield for watching the flying displays.

For aviation executives, the show begins Monday and runs through June 21. Then June 22-24, the public gets in to see the displays.

Flying displays

Each afternoon of the show, jets fly by in noisy and impressive displays of aviation prowess.

Airbus will fly its biggest jets. In a dramatic display of control, the 555-seat Airbus A380 will fly low over the airfield, seeming to glide in slow motion almost at a stall angle — a startling sight.

Boeing does not fly its commercial jets at the show, because it considers this an expensive waste. However, it will fly its F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter.

Ground displays

Commercial and military aircraft, including many that will not fly at the show, will be parked around the edges of the airfield for display. Some will be open to visitors.

Boeing's main commercial display is a new 777-300ER owned by Jet Airways of India. Premium class on this aircraft features enclosed cabins with doors — as on some luxury train cars from bygone years.

On the defense side, Boeing will show off the massive C-17 military transport, the F-15E Eagle fighter, and the Apache Longbow and Chinook helicopters.

Airbus will have one A380 parked on display, in addition to the one flying.

And its parent company, EADS, also is expected to display the first KC-30B refueling tanker for the Australian air force — the airplane that will go head-to-head against Boeing's 767 tanker for the huge pending U.S. Air Force contract.

Elsewhere in Paris

Each evening of show week, the top executives of the aviation world come into the City of Light, attend a sponsored reception or two, then retreat to private dinners to discuss serious business.

What news to look for

Multimillion-dollar deals are routinely sealed just before or during the show. All the big aviation companies schedule major media briefings, but news conferences also are sometimes hurriedly arranged as aircraft orders are finalized in the back rooms of the chalets and the big hotels of Paris.

In addition to the expected announcement of its big ILFC order, Boeing will give updates on its 787 and 747-8 commercial jets, its 767-based U.S. Air Force tanker bid, and its 737-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois and chief salesman John Leahy have tougher jobs. They must convince the world that the A380 production problems are history; that Airbus now stands solidly behind the much-changed design of its A350 rival to the 787, and can win buyers for it; and that the new plane's progress won't be delayed by the restructuring of the company, including 10,000 job cuts and selling off plants.

Leahy will certainly announce many orders. The question is, how solid will they be? Will they be from prestigious airlines or shaky startups? Will they be firm orders or flimsy commitments? He has to impress on all fronts to boost Airbus' credibility.