Farnborough International Airshow sales show aerospace industry remains buoyant

Engineering students and graduates set on careers in aerospace will be encouraged by the news that more than $47 billion dollars of orders for new aircraft were made at last week’s Farnborough International Airshow, according to provisional figures announced at the end of the week.

Sales at the biannual aviation exhibition were down from the 2008 peak of $88.7 billion dollars, but were higher than in 2006, when orders totalled $46 billion dollars. Visitor numbers on trade days were down about 8% on 2008, as expected given the current economic climate. Ian Godden, the chairman of ADS, the UK’s AeroSpace, Defence and Security trade organisation, which oversees the Airshow, said it had been ‘very successful’.

Mr Godden commented, ‘The figures demonstrate the mood of strong optimism that there has been around the show this year, which is very encouraging given the current global economic climate. To see over $47 billion dollars worth of business done and the quality of the business transactions at the show is a testament to the endurance of our sectors, their positive contribution to UK and world trade as well as the significance of the show itself.’

The Airshow was visited by 11 UK government ministers, including business secretary Vince Cable who said in his opening speech that the aerospace industry had a central role to play in rebalancing the UK economy and rebuilding its export strength. Mr Cable commented that leading employers in the sector such as Rolls-Royce had ‘extensive and effective graduate and apprentice programmes’ and said such schemes were ‘the foundations of tomorrow’s success’.

The aerospace industry was ‘at a technological frontier, tackling a huge and inevitable technological transition to low carbon,’ Mr Cable added. ‘The gains to the most successful movers in that transition can be huge and British firms have the potential to be part of that.’

• Find out more about the Farnborough International Airshow
• Find out more about graduate engineering careers in the aerospace sector
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• Before the event: build-up to the Farnborough International Airshow 2010

Posted by Alison_TARGETjobs on 26 July 2010

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