Airbus SMBC order Farnborough 2026
CORRECTION – Day 1 of the 2026 Farnborough Airshow ended with orders for 254 commercial aircraft, including an MoU and options. Stealing the headlines is lessor SMBC Aviation Capital, which went shopping with both Boeing and Airbus for 200 narrowbodies.
The Japanese lessor, owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Corporation, has bought 60 MAX 10s and 40 MAX 8s. A Boeing spokesman confirmed that this order has been in the unfilled backlog since June, although that one shows 102 aircraft here. Strictly speaking, we don’t count this as a new airshow order.
SMBC still has 119 MAX in the unfilled backlog, and the latest order will bring the portfolio to 450 MAX. But the lessor has ordered the MAX 10 for the first time, making it the largest order for this variant from a leasing company.
CEO Peter Barrett says in a media statement: “Our partnership with Boeing spans over two decades, and this order reflects market dynamics as our airline and investor customers look to upgauge to the 737-10. This order will support their growth ambitions well into the next decade and reflects our strong confidence in the Boeing 737 MAX and sustained demand for fuel-efficient, technologically advanced narrowbody aircraft.”
In the afternoon, Barrett and the SMBC team were at Airbus to announce an order for 65 A321neos and 35 A320neos. On the way, they stopped at CFM to buy 70 LEAP-1A engines plus 20 options for existing orders. SMBC will have to decide about engine choice for the additional aircraft at a later stage. It still has unfilled orders with Airbus for 84 A320neo and 162 A321neos.
The new A320neo family aircraft and MAX will be delivered in the first half of the 2030s, providing SMBC with a continuous stream of narrowbody aircraft to satisfy market demand. Barrett said in the Airbus media conference: “We buy aircraft that our customers want. We have been buying aircraft from both OEMs for a long time, and we have been very successful in placing them. These are the types our customers want; we are placing aircraft into the end of this decade, and we see a consistent need for these types of aircraft. We have a portfolio of over 1.200 managed aircraft; this is the feedstock for our business.”
Philippine Airlines
In the morning, Philippine Airlines showed up in the Boeing chalet to announce a Memorandum of Understanding for 15 787-10s plus five options, to be confirmed at a later date. PAL announced on Tuesday that it has selected the GEnx as the preferred engine. Deliveries will start in 2030.
The order was expected ahead of the airshow and might be followed up by another one for nine Airbus A350-1000s, complementary to the one it already has for nine aircraft.
“These aircraft are long-term replacements for our medium-haul aircraft (Airbus A330-300s) as well as for expansion”, said CEO Richard Nuttall. They will complement the existing fleet of ten 777-300ERs and the growing fleet of A350-900s and 1000s. Nuttall said that the cargo capacity of the Dash 10 opens up options to expand air freight activities.
Riyadh Air
Without a media conference, Riyadh Air announced that it had converted options on 28 Boeing 787s that were part of the original order from March 2023, with five options left. More significantly, the Saudi Arabian startup has converted 20 of them into 787-10. “The addition of the 787-10 strengthens our ability to accommodate growing passenger and cargo demand while providing the operational flexibility required to support our ambitious network plans”, CEO Tony Douglas says in a media release.
In the release, Boeing also says: “The announcement includes a previously unidentified purchase of 11 of the ultra-efficient widebody jets. Once the remaining 17 airplanes are finalised, Riyadh Air’s firm order count will grow to 67 787 Dreamliners.”
Riyadh Air also converted options for six more A350-1000s, with 19 remaining from the first A350 order. The carrier now has 31 A350s on order, with the first set to be delivered later this year.
Engines
We already reported on the surprise selection from British Airways for Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines. All was not lost for CFM on Day 1. The engine maker signed an MoU with IndiGo for over 1.000 LEAP-1As to power 510 A320neo family aircraft that the Indian carrier has in the backlog. The MoU was announced by the new CEO Willie Walsh, who will officially take over on July 31.
BOC Aviation finalised an order for 200 LEAP 1As and 100 1Bs for aircraft that were previously ordered. Lessor Jackson Square also selected the LEAP-1A for 30 A320neo family aircraft from a previous order in March 2025. And it announced an order for GTFs for an undisclosed number of aircraft.
More announcements are expected on Day 2, when Embraer will join with its news conference in the morning.
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