The Paris Air Show has opened on Sunday at Le Bourget, just outside the French capital, with transatlantic tensions flaring between industry giants Airbus and Boeing. Over a quarter of a million visitors are expected at this years Paris Air Show which has opened at Le Bourget Airport. On the opening day transatlantic tensions flared, as Boeing Co (BA.N) accused European rival Airbus of standing in the way of a high-profile U.S. aerospace merger and warned of trade friction. Fierce commercial competitors Airbus and Boeing often trade barbs. But at Le Bourget, their battle is being coloured by political strains between Europe and the United States. Boeing claim Airbus had opposed a $42 billion (USD) tie up between the U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co and Honeywell International Inc. That merger appeared near collapse after General Electric said it would make no more concessions to the European Commission, which said the deal is flawed and would hurt competition. Uncertainty surrounding the GE/Honeywell deal overshadowed other issues and events on the air show's first day. In excess of 200 aircraft have been rolled out Among the special attractions are; the Global Hawk, a pilotless American endurance plane which is the size of a business jet. And the Ukrainian-built Antonov 225 the world's biggest carrier which can transport 250 tonnes of cargo.
Bureau Report