Industrial conglomerates General Electric Co. and United Technologies Corp. are among the Connecticut firms that have cashed in thus far at the Paris Air Show, which runs from June 17-23.
The annual showcase, which rotates between Paris and the U.K. each year, is one of the aerospace industry”™s principal marketing events. Connecticut firms agreed to $48 million in anticipated sales at last year”™s air show, according to state officials.
On the event”™s first day, GE”™s commercial aircraft leasing and financing unit announced it would purchase 10 of Boeing Co.”™s largest Dreamliners in a deal reported to be worth $2.9 billion.
GE Capital Aviation Services said it expects deliveries of the 787-10X aircraft would occur from 2019 to 2021 pending final approval of the deal by both parties. Notably, GE builds the engines that are used by the Boeing 787.
Pratt & Whitney, an East Hartford engine manufacturer and subsidiary of UTC, announced six agreements for the purchase of its PurePower engines over the first two days of the air show.
Aviation Capital Group, LATAM Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Spirit Airlines all agreed in principal to purchase Pratt”™s PurePower engines for their Airbus A320neo aircraft, while International Lease Finance Corp. and SkyWest Inc. announced agreements to use the PurePower engine in their Embraer E-Jets aircraft.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Stratford-based unit of UTC, announced contracts with Mitsubishi Corp. for the purchase of 11 S-76D helicopters. The contracts were finalized between February 2012 and March 2013 before being unveiled at the air show, with the helicopters expected to be used by the Japan Coast Guard for search and rescue operations.
Sikorsky also announced deals with China”™s CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co. for the purchase of two S-92 helicopters and with Zhuhai Helicopter Co., also of China, for the purchase of four S-92s, which will be used for offshore utility-related operations.
