The Farnborough International Airshow closed its opening day with £48.8 billion ($36.2 billion) in list prices, and an estimated £7.7 billion of that activity went to the UK industry, a bigger slice than in 2024 although the global figure is smaller.
Exclusive figures provided to Aerospace Global News by ADS Group, the UK trade body for aerospace, defence, security and space, show the day one total came in 4 percent below the opening day of Farnborough 2024. The amount flowing to UK companies, however, increased.
That is a very important figure for British companies in the supply chain, from engine makers to SMEs that manufacture their parts. The first day brought firm orders for 234 commercial aircraft, worth an estimated £5.2 billion in the UK, a 13 per cent increase on the number of UK aircraft orders generated on the first day of Farnborough 2024, and 44 per cent more aircraft ordered.
Add in strong engine orders and the UK day one pull rises to £7.7 billion, about $9.9 billion at the exchange rate used by ADS.
SMBC leads with 200 narrowbodies
The plane’s assets were owned by lessors SMBC Aviation Capital, which bought both sides of the runway. It ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets, divided between 40 737-8s and 60 737-10s, then returned later in the day with 100 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft, including 65 A321neos and 35 A320neos, with half of the first 203 expected.
Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Air converted options for 28 Boeing 787 Dreamliners into firm orders, including 20 upgraded to larger 787-10s, and added six Airbus A350-1000s, making its total commitment for the type 31 aircraft.
Together, the SMBC and Riyadh Air deals totaled 234 firm aircraft orders recorded by ADS on the first day. Philippine Airlines has separately announced the commitment of up to 20 Boeing 787-10s, including 15 aircraft and rights to purchase five more, which will enter Boeing’s backlog once completed.
Engines fill the UK core
The £36.2 billion headline figure also includes 466 firm engine orders including previously ordered aircraft, as well as 60 engine options, 20 aircraft options and several helicopter orders. Stripping the helicopters would reduce the global figure alone from $48.8 billion to $48.7 billion, and would leave the UK’s £7.7 billion untouched.
A word of caution on the numbers: they are based on historical or limited list prices rather than secret discounts negotiated by customers. However, as a measure of industrial activity, they say.
Fewer buyers, bigger checks
ADS noted that deals are coming from fewer customers than in previous years, reflecting the record order backlog we already have with aircraft and engine manufacturers. With Airbus and Boeing selling off most of their narrowbody production over the next decade, delivery slots have become scarce, and only employers and fast-growing airlines writing the biggest checks can protect them.
For UK plc, the workload now accrued is a bifurcated award. The order book fills Farnborough’s largest ever in the show’s history, yet the factory that builds those planes advertises 10,000 unfilled vacancies a year, a pressure felt especially hard by small suppliers competing for engineering awards.
With four days of announcements to go, Farnborough 2026 has already bankrolled around $50 billion in deals and around £8 billion in potential UK aerospace jobs. Not a bad Monday.
