The Farnborough International Airshow 2026 concluded after five days during which the world’s leading manufacturers presented new programmes, technologies and commercial agreements, while airlines, leasing companies and engine manufacturers announced orders worth tens of billions of dollars. This year’s edition confirmed that demand for new aircraft remains strong, but also that the industry’s main challenge is no longer finding customers—it is increasing production and delivering already ordered aircraft on time.

According to Reuters’ final calculation, Boeing announced firm and preliminary orders for 173 aircraft during the show, while Airbus secured agreements covering 154 aircraft. The two largest manufacturers therefore collected orders and commitments for a combined 327 aircraft. Embraer announced deals covering another 50 aircraft, including 20 passenger-to-freighter E-Jet conversions. In total, around 377 orders and commercial agreements for commercial aircraft were presented during Farnborough. When Airbus orders for ten H135 and H145 helicopters are added, the overall number of aircraft and helicopters covered approaches 390.

The largest individual deal of the show was concluded by leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital, which divided its order for 200 narrowbody aircraft equally between the two largest manufacturers. Airbus received an order for 100 A320neo Family aircraft, while Boeing secured an order for 100 737 MAX aircraft. The agreement once again demonstrated that aircraft intended for short- and medium-haul routes remain the foundation of the global market, even though the earliest available delivery slots at some manufacturers are now only available during the next decade.

Boeing ended the show with a slight lead thanks to a combination of narrowbody, widebody and freighter orders. Among the more significant deals were orders from Philippine Airlines for 15 787-10 aircraft, with purchase rights for a further five, and from AerCap for an additional 15 787-9s. Riyadh Air ordered 28 Boeing 787s, Uganda Airlines ordered four 737 MAX aircraft and four 787s, while MSC Air Cargo selected five future 777-8F freighters. Luxair ordered another two 737-10s.

Airbus’ result was led by the SMBC order, followed by Philippine Airlines with a memorandum covering nine additional A350-1000s, Riyadh Air with six aircraft of the same type and Shohin Airlines with four A320neo Family aircraft. Alongside commercial aircraft, the UK National Police Air Service ordered two H135 helicopters, while Saudi Arabia’s The Helicopter Company agreed to purchase a further eight H145s.

Among the deals announced during the final days of the show, the additional order from Saudi low-cost carrier flynas stood out in particular. The airline ordered five additional A330-900 widebody aircraft and 20 A321neos. This increased flynas’ total commitment to the A330neo to 20 aircraft and to the A321neo to 56 aircraft. The carrier’s overall firm order with Airbus now covers 235 aircraft, in line with its plans to expand its network within Saudi Arabia, across the region and on long-haul routes.

Airbus also used Farnborough to reveal the identity of the customer behind an order for ten A220-300s that had been recorded in March under an undisclosed customer. The buyer is BermudAir, which plans to use the A220 to develop new direct routes between Bermuda, Caribbean destinations and North America. The aircraft will be configured with 135 seats across three travel classes. Although the customer’s identity was announced during the show, the order was not entirely new to Airbus’ backlog because it had already been recorded several months earlier.

Embraer also used Farnborough for several important announcements. Japan’s Fuji Dream Airlines ordered two additional E175 aircraft, which will be configured with 84 seats, with deliveries scheduled for 2027 and 2028. The order had already been included in Embraer’s backlog, but the customer’s identity was confirmed during the show. Fuji Dream Airlines currently operates 15 Embraer aircraft, comprising two E170s and 13 E175s.

Embraer’s largest deal involved Abra Group, the owner of Avianca, GOL and Wamos Air, which agreed to purchase 20 E195-E2 aircraft with the possibility of increasing the order to a total of 45. Binter ordered another five E195-E2s, while additional orders were also announced for Luxair. Leasing company Azorra, meanwhile, signed an agreement for 20 firm passenger-to-freighter E-Jet conversions, with rights for another ten conversions.

The total number of announced deals should not, however, be treated as entirely new orders. Some agreements had already been recorded in manufacturers’ order books under undisclosed customers, while others were memoranda, preliminary commitments, options or purchase rights. Excluding deals that had already been recorded, Reuters estimated that the show brought 218 genuinely new aircraft into the Airbus and Boeing order books. Even so, the result was slightly better than at Farnborough 2024, although still far below the record set in 2018, when Airbus and Boeing announced deals covering 1,109 aircraft.

Farnborough 2026 therefore did not leave the impression of a show dominated by a spectacular battle for order numbers. Before the event began, some external estimates suggested that deals covering as many as 800 aircraft could be announced, while more realistic industry expectations were closer to the achieved figure of just over 300 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Manufacturers already hold record backlogs that, in some cases, secure production well into the next decade, meaning new sales campaigns must be aligned with a limited number of available delivery slots.

The main topics in discussions among manufacturers, airlines and suppliers were supply-chain disruption, the availability of engines and spare parts, maintenance delays and the possibility of increasing monthly production rates. Industrial execution has become more important than demand itself. Airlines do not question the need for new and more efficient aircraft, but they want greater certainty that those aircraft will be delivered within the agreed timeframe.

Engine manufacturers also attracted significant attention. IndiGo signed a memorandum with CFM International covering more than 1,000 LEAP-1A engines to power 500 previously ordered Airbus aircraft. It was the largest single agreement in CFM’s history. British Airways, meanwhile, selected Pratt & Whitney GTF engines for up to 63 new A320neo Family aircraft, while BOC Aviation ordered up to 300 CFM engines.

On the technology side, the emphasis was placed on next-generation propulsion systems and aerodynamic solutions. Airbus and CFM presented the appearance of the A380 that will serve as a flying testbed for Open Fan engine testing under the RISE programme by the end of the decade. Airbus also launched a new phase of its Wing of Tomorrow programme, under which extended wings will be tested on an A321neo for a future generation of narrowbody aircraft. New hybrid-electric systems, advanced avionics and blended wing body aircraft concepts were also presented.

Unlike previous editions, commercial aviation had to share the spotlight with a considerably stronger defence presence. Around half of the record 1,600 exhibitors were linked to defence technologies, with a strong focus on unmanned systems, air defence, new missile systems, radar and space technologies, and future combat aircraft programmes. This direction reflects rising defence budgets and the deteriorating security situation in Europe and other parts of the world.

Farnborough 2026 therefore ended without record-breaking order totals, but with clear confirmation that the market is not lacking customers. Boeing narrowly outperformed Airbus in direct sales results, Embraer further strengthened its position in the regional and smaller narrowbody segment, while engine manufacturers concluded some of the largest agreements of the entire show.

The most important conclusion from Farnborough, however, is not the number of aircraft sold. The industry already has demand and backlogs on a scale that would have been difficult to imagine only a few years ago. The question that will define the period until the next major European air show is no longer how many new aircraft will be ordered, but how many manufacturers will actually be able to produce and deliver.