The aerospace industry faces an array of challenges, but geopolitical instability, persistent strains on supply chains, and concerns over the commercial aviation industry’s capability to decarbonize won’t prevent Aerospace Industries Association CEO Eric Fanning from heading to the Paris Air Show with optimism. “There is tremendous excitement that American manufacturers are able to return to Paris, the world’s largest air show, after four years…after four rough years,” Fanning told AIN in an interview ahead of the event at LeBourget. In 2019, North American manufacturers accounted for 18 percent of the more than 2,450 companies exhibiting their products. On a per-country basis, the U.S. took the lead with some 340 high-technology manufacturers and suppliers from across every sector and tier of the civil and defense industry.
Fanning acknowledged that stressed supply chains will make for a major topic of discussion at this year’s show. “The good news is that air travel is picking back up,” he said. “Memorial Day weekend travel exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Demand on the civil side is looking good.” Demand on the defense side also remains high, owing mainly to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. OEMs and their suppliers can’t keep pace with the resulting demand. The historical counter-cyclical environment of defense and non-defense is gone, Fanning remarked. The civil and defense industries largely share a supply chain, which, said Fanning, “is not built for a simultaneous resurgence of demand of the two sides of the aerospace industry."
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