| NEWS ARCHIVES |
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| Singapore Airshow garners US$10b in deals |
| 5 Feb 2010 |
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Asia's largest aviation exhibition - the Singapore Airshow - has garnered some 14 billion Sing dollars (US 10b) in deals when the trade show ends on Friday.
Although it's some 4 billion Sing dollars less than the previous show two years ago, organisers say it's encouraging and are expecting a few more deals later on.
In fact, the amount exceeded their target of 7 billion Sing dollars - which took into account the weak aviation industry last year.
Of the 14 billion Sing dollars, about 70 per cent 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.
Mr Jimmy Lau is the Managing Director of the Singapore Airshow.
"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."
Meanwhile, some analysts are saying the 14 billion trade figure at the Singapore Airshow is rather disappointing, compared to the 25.6 billion dollar Dubai Airshow a few months ago.
And even then, that figure was considered dismal by the industry.
Experts say by 2012, the aviation landscape is set to change vastly.
Mr Shashank Nigam, Chief Eexecutive Officer of SimpliFlying elaborates.
"By the end of the year, Air Asia 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."
But if it's any consolation, organisers say for the 2012 Singapore Airshow, 60 per cent of the exhibition space has already been reserved.
They also 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.
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