Despite supply chain concerns, Boeing and Airbus orders were muted at the year's biggest air show.

• The pandemic has resulted in production delays for both Boeing and Airbus due to a lack of skilled workers and supply chain disruptions.
• The safety crisis at Boeing has worsened its issues during the pandemic, resulting in slowed production to fix defects.
• Airbus and Boeing will release their quarterly results this week, providing a roadmap for the next few months of production.

This year's air show in FARNBOROUGH, England, saw a decline in massive airplane orders, with hundreds of orders missing. The focus was on the struggles of companies such as and to increase airplane production, while dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic's impact on output.

The problems with training new workers, as pointed out by analysts, will take years to resolve, resulting in ongoing difficulties for airlines, suppliers, and manufacturers, as well as a shortage of fuel-efficient planes.

"Boeing's senior vice president of global supply chain and fabrication, Ihssane Mounir, stated during a panel at the Farnborough Airshow that the supply base and airlines are entitled to their opinions about the company's failure to meet commitments in terms of timeliness and predictability. As a result, individuals begin to make their own plans and second-guess the company's decisions."

Airbus and Boeing will release their quarterly results this week, with Airbus cutting its delivery targets for the year. Wall Street analysts predict that Boeing may post another loss in the second quarter and beyond.

Modest orders

Boeing secured 96 orders and commitments at the show that ended on Friday, including finalized sales from earlier, while Airbus fell short of the 826 orders achieved at the Paris Air Show last year, with a total of 266 orders, according to Ishka's tally. The expo is hosted annually by Paris and Farnborough.

Air Korea has placed an order for up to 50 Boeing wide-body planes, including the 777X, which Boeing is working to get certified by regulators. The airline also has Airbus A350-1000 jets on order. With both manufacturers facing production challenges, Air Korea CEO Walter Cho joked during the Boeing order signing, "Whichever comes first will become our flagship, whoever's on time."

The muted order tally during the show was due to both manufacturers being largely sold out of narrow-body jets like the Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A321neo through much of this decade, if not longer. Boeing has an overall backlog of close to 5,500 planes, while Airbus has more than 8,000 on order. Many airlines from around the world, including Air India, have also stocked up on new jet orders as travel rebounded in the pandemic.

Boeing's presence at the air show was understated, with no commercial aircraft flight demonstrations, as it focused on its safety crisis and manufacturing problems. Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, aims to increase production of its Max planes to approximately 38 per month, and investors will look for updates on when this target can be achieved.

The Airbus A321XLR, an extra-long-range, narrow-body plane, was displayed by Airbus and certified by European regulators prior to the start of the show.

Parts shortages

Most of the air show industry this year was focused on short-term output rather than long-term fleets.

The shortage of parts, including landing gear, engine components, high-pressure blades, and complex cabin interiors, has slowed down production and prevented airlines from obtaining more fuel-efficient planes, causing frustration among some executives.

Christian Scherer, CEO of Airbus' commercial airplane business, stated that the company is taking a more hands-on approach than ever before by deploying over 200 supply chain engineers among suppliers.

Scherer stated ahead of the show that what we don't want to see again in the future, whether it's an uplift or a slowdown in the industry, is a situation where the supply chain doesn't believe what we're telling them.

Airbus announced that it would reduce its airplane delivery goal for the year and slow down its planned production increase due to ongoing supply chain problems, particularly in engines, aerostructures, and cabin equipment.

Boeing is facing both supply chain problems and a safety crisis due to a door plug blowout and manufacturing defects that have slowed production.

New workers, low wages in focus

The decline in air travel due to Covid-19 has resulted in the departure of skilled workers, hindering the production of new jets. The manufacturers now face the challenge of training new employees.

According to Kevin Michaels of AeroDynamic Advisory, a three-to-five year issue is wages needing to be reset to make the industry more attractive for workers.

Boeing's Mounir admitted that low wages are a problem in the supply chain and suggested that Boeing should invest in training.

"He stated confidently that there is no doubt about it. He believes that the smaller suppliers, although crucial to the ecosystem, will not be able to bear the burden. Instead, we must take responsibility at the higher level, utilizing our financial resources. It will ultimately benefit us."

According to Delphine Bazaud, head of industrial supply chain and digital operations at Airbus, it takes longer to train workers who are new to the aerospace field, such as bakers and butchers, compared to those in different business areas.

According to Michaels of AeroDynamic Advisory, the U.S. may see more aerospace work moving abroad in the future, "where labor is readily available."