Farnborough Airshow 2026: What to Expect When the Order Books Open

The Farnborough International Airshow opens on July 20, 2026, running through July 24 at Farnborough in Hampshire, England. It is one of the two biggest events on the commercial aviation calendar, alternating each year with the Paris Air Show, and it is where Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and the engine makers turn months of quiet negotiation into public order announcements. Here is what to watch before the first press conference begins.

Organized by Farnborough International Ltd, the show splits into trade days early in the week and public days at the end. The Monday-to-Thursday sessions are aimed at the industry, while July 23 and 24 open to families and enthusiasts under the “Pioneers of Tomorrow” banner, with free admission for under-21s, students and apprentices. This year’s official themes span global security, advanced technology and AI, supply chain, sustainability, finance and the future workforce.

The order books are the main event

Analysts expect a busy show. Aviation analytics firm IBA has forecast up to 875 commercial aircraft orders, options, letters of intent and memoranda of understanding across the week. If that holds, it would be a sharp rebound from the 438 commitments logged at Farnborough 2024 and an improvement on the 601 recorded at the 2025 Paris Air Show, though still well below the 1,338 booked at Paris in 2023.

One deal is already being trailed. Reuters reported on July 10 that Philippine Airlines is on the cusp of ordering 15 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners and nine Airbus A350-1000s at the show. The carrier already flies the Airbus A350-1000, with two delivered and seven more on order, but the 787-10 would be a new widebody type for the airline. Several other carriers are expected to firm up widebody commitments during the week.

That distinction matters because airshow orders arrive in tiers. A memorandum of understanding signals intent but can shrink or lapse before it becomes a firm contract. A firm order is a binding commitment with a delivery schedule, and it is the only tier that reliably shows up in a manufacturer’s backlog. When you see a manufacturer’s total for the week, it usually blends all of these, which is why the final figure can look larger than the number of aircraft that will actually get built.

Beyond the headline deals

Embraer arrives with momentum. The Brazilian manufacturer reported a record firm order backlog of about 32.1 billion US dollars, with its commercial aviation backlog up roughly 50 percent year on year to around 15 billion dollars, and first-quarter 2026 deliveries of 44 aircraft, a 47 percent increase on the same period a year earlier. Those figures are confirmed results rather than show expectations, and they set the tone for what Embraer wants to talk about at Farnborough.

Defense and sustainability sit alongside the commercial order chase. The show’s dedicated summits and its Space and Defence zones reflect how much of modern aerospace revenue now comes from military programs, uncrewed systems and sustainable aviation fuel research rather than airliner sales alone. For readers who want the wider context on these events, our guide to the best air shows covers how flying displays and trade halls fit together.

Below is how the week is scheduled to unfold.

As always, the numbers announced during the week are a starting point, not a settled score. Expect the biggest headlines early, and expect the real picture to sharpen only once the memoranda and letters of intent are converted into firm, dated orders in the months that follow.