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SINGAPORE: Asia's largest aviation exhibition, the Singapore Airshow, has garnered some US$10 billion in deals when the trade show ended on Friday.
Although it is some US$3 billion less than the previous show two years ago, organisers said it is encouraging and are expecting a few more deals later on.
In fact, the amount exceeded their conservative figure of US$5 billion which took into account the weak aviation industry last year.
About 70 per cent of the US$10 billion trade figure came from the commercial side of the event. Most of the bigger deals were maintenance-related.
On the defence side, the biggest order takes up almost one-tenth of the total trade figure.
Jimmy Lau, managing director, Singapore Airshow & Events, said: "The biggest defence contract signed at the Singapore Airshow belongs to the Indian Air Force. They have signed a missiles deal worth over US$860 million."
However, some analysts are saying the US$10 billion trade figure at the Singapore Airshow is rather disappointing because just a few months ago at the Dubai Airshow, that figure was US$18 billion and even that was considered dismal by the industry.
And by 2012, experts said the aviation landscape is set to change vastly.
Shashank Nigam, CEO, SimpliFlying, said: "By the end of the year, AirAsia will have a larger fleet than Singapore Airlines. And by 2012, maybe double. So there's going to be a renewed focus on low cost carriers and how manufacturers can sell to these players rather than just the legacy airlines."
For the next Singapore Airshow in 2012, organisers said 60 per cent of the exhibition space has already been reserved.
Meanwhile, they allayed any concerns following Thursday's incident where a South Korean pilot flew his jet too close to spectators, forcing the display to be stopped.
The pilot was asked to take a rest day before resuming flying on Saturday - when the show opens to the public.
Meanwhile, two companies got together for the first-ever "tweetup" on a private jet.
The companies are international airline branding consultancy firm SimpliFlying and Penn Olson, a social media blog.
Wondering what a "tweetup" is? Well, basically it is a "meet-up" but on social networking site - Twitter.
And some 25 aviation buffs and bloggers were in a Bombardier airliner twittering away about the aviation industry.
The "tweetup" took place amidst the horizon of world-class aircrafts at the Singapore Airshow.
"Technology has allowed us to expand the online communities across borders. Through this tweetup, we want to celebrate the growth of the aviation community, whether you are a traveller or airline executive," said Shashank Nigam, chief executive of SimpliFlying. - CNA/vm
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