Hollywood’s stars may have moved on from the red carpets of Cannes, but the real “jet set” — the CEOs and executives who decide how, when and what we fly — are heading back to France.
The A-listers of global aviation will be at Le Bourget from June 17 to 23 for the 50th Paris Airshow — the biggest and most important event in the industry’s calendar, where billion-dollar deals are done at the edge of the runway as stunt pilots swoop through the skies overhead.
More than 2,100 companies from 44 countries around the world will fly in to showcase their wares at Le Bourget; from jumbo-sized jets and massive manufacturing tools to the tiniest springs, cogs and other components, as well as high-tech concepts which may not see the light of day for decades.
In years gone by, the show, held at the airfield where Charles Lindbergh landed after his pioneering transatlantic flight in 1927, has seen the debuts of some of aviation’s key developments — from Concorde to the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A380.
This time around, those hoping to spot aerospace’s next big thing may be out of luck. With just days to go before the visitors arrive, it is still unclear whether the industry’s two most eagerly-awaited new planes, Airbus‘ A350 andBombardier‘s C-Series, will be at the show.
Both companies have warned the planes will be too busy carrying out flight tests to attend — but industry experts say there’s an outside chance they may still be spotted in the skies above Paris.
“We’re still waiting to find out whether the A350 will put in an appearance,” said Murdo Morrison, editor ofaerospace industry magazine Flight International. “That certainly would be a highlight — it’s one of the newest and most exciting aircraft, but it and Bombardier’s C-Series are at a critical point in their development.
“It becomes a bit of a fight between the marketing people, the publicists, who want the company to get all the best headlines, and the engineers who are working to critical deadlines to get the plane ready to fly as soon as possible,” he explained.
source:CNN
Tags: Hollywood's stars, jet set, red carpets of Cannes
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