An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX planes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., March 21, 2019.
Lindsey Wasson | Reuters
SINGAPORE — Boeing will not bring any commercial aircraft to the Singapore Air Show, shifting the spotlight on passenger aircraft to competitive Airbus as well as China’s domestic supply.
It comes as Boeing reported a decline in aircraft orders and deliveries in January, following an in-flight explosion of a fuselage panel on one of its 737 Max 9s earlier this year.
While there will be aerial displays of commercial aircraft from Airbus and China’s domestic Comac C919, Boeing will not have any commercial aircraft at the air show.
To be clear, Boeing will still be showing off its defense capabilities and will have several of its fighter jets, including the B-52 Stratofortress participating in the US Air Force air show.
While no commercial aircraft will be on display, Boeing will still hold a cabin demonstration of the 777X wide-body passenger plane, which the company claims is the world’s largest twin-engine jet. Deliveries for the aircraft, expected from 2025, have been plagued by delays.
The Singapore Air Show — held from February 20 to 25 — is usually attended by the dozens thousandsincluding military delegations and aviation enthusiasts.
Other aerospace and defense bellwethers including Lockheed Martin, Dasho, SAAB, Leonardo, Thales are among those participating in this year’s event.
It is the first major international aerospace event since last month’s explosion, which plunged Boeing into another safety crisis after US safety regulators ordered the temporary grounding of more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes.
A door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff from Portland, Ore., on Jan. 5, an accident that did not seriously injure passengers but left Boeing executives scrambling to win back the trust of airline customers. investors and regulators.
China’s domestic competitor
China is also preparing to introduce and fly the C919 narrow-body commercial aircraft, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or Comac.
It will be one of the most anticipated aerial features at the biennial event, as it is the first time China will fly its domestic aircraft for an international audience.
Although the aircraft has only been certified by Chinese authorities, industry experts said it could be an early challenger to the commercial aviation duopoly between Boeing and Airbus.
“The industry contacts we’re talking to believe that the problems at Boeing, specifically the 737 Max, are an early opportunity for Comac,” Northcoast Research analyst Chris Olin told CNBC.
According to Olin, the C919 may eventually take a bite out of Boeing Max’s market share, but noted that “the impact of the C919 is likely to diminish over the next two years with aircraft production expected to be limited to 75-100 jets per year.”
It’s not all bleak for the year
Although the Max crisis and supply chain disruptions loom large in the industry, analysts expect the impact on Boeing to last only in the short term.
“In orders, 2023 was the best order year on record for Boeing commercial airplanes and was particularly strong in December,” said Miles Walton, chief executive of Wolfe Research, noting that like Airbus, Boeing is expected to see higher deliveries year on year.
“Given Boeing’s lower starting level in 2023, the delivery growth rate for 2024 is likely to be higher, although the growth rate will be more similar,” Walton said.
— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this story