Slower commercial traffic growth—in part triggered by the economic fallout from the Iran war—could mean that airlines are less concerned about continuing delays to new aircraft deliveries, according to consulting group McKinsey. Briefing reporters on data from its latest industry whitepaper on Thursday, McKinsey partner Frank Coleman suggested that, in weakening market conditions, getting some breathing space before receiving new equipment might suit their short-term tactical needs quite well.

In the longer term, though, McKinsey envisages what partner Kevin Sachs described as “a return to normalcy” with more than 2,000 narrowbodies in the global fleet beyond their expected retirement age. While noting that maintenance organizations and leasing companies have benefited from the deferred replacement of older aircraft, the group does not expect carriers to ask OEMs to push back deliveries of new equipment even further, not least because slots are so hard to get.

Visitors to this year’s Farnborough International Airshow can skip the motorway and fly in from London aboard Blade helicopters. The service comes courtesy of Joby Aviation, the California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer that acquired Blade’s passenger business last August and is using airshow week to demonstrate the kind of service it ultimately intends to fly with electric aircraft.

A full-scale mockup of Joby’s JAS4-1 eVTOL aircraft is on static display all week. The aircraft made its European debut at this show two years ago. For this year’s Farnborough Airshow, Blade is selling shared seats between London’s Battersea heliport and Farnborough for $425, along with private charters “from anywhere in England” starting at $8,750. The flights will use twin-engine AgustaWestland AW109 helicopters, which seat up to seven passengers. Heathrow is among Blade’s pickup points, and the airport is slated to become the southern hub of Joby’s planned UK eVTOL network.

As GKN Aerospace seeks to absorb what CEO Peter Dilnot described as “the most geopolitical change we have seen in a generation,” the group has been recalibrating the focus of its research and development work to prioritize areas such as new uncrewed aircraft applications. The company is also pursuing breakthroughs in additive manufacturing it believes could alleviate the industry’s ongoing supply-chain issues.

Briefing reporters several weeks before the Farnborough International Airshow, Dilnot said that the shifting role for drones in both the Ukraine and Iran conflicts points to a market in which “there will not be many armed helicopters.” This conviction lies behind new GKN partnerships supporting new autonomous platforms, including one it has begun developing with drone innovator Anduril and eVTOL developer Archer Aviation.

AI-generated summaries are the first thing customers, investors and regulators see when they search for a company. Is your reputation getting lost in translation with AI? New research examines how aerospace companies are being described by AI, and what they can do to protect their reputations in today’s information era.

There is a prevailing view within the aerospace industry that Boeing is skeptical of CFM International’s RISE open-fan engine concept, but Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) president and CEO Stephanie Pope says that the airframer has not definitively ruled out such an engine architecture for its next clean-sheet aircraft design.

Ahead of the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, Leeham News and Analysis asked Pope whether Boeing could be convinced of the open-fan concept’s potential. She did not respond with a hard “no.”

Jamming and spoofing have made global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals less dependable, and Honeywell Aerospace is answering with an expanding menu of alternatives. At a recent JamFest demonstration event in Barcelona, Spain, the Phoenix-based company showcased smaller-form products—spanning radar velocity, visual, and low-earth-orbit (LEO) navigation—that build on its inertial navigation systems (INS) expertise.

“There’s no one silver bullet with alternative navigation modalities,” explained Darren Fisher, a founding member of Honeywell’s HGuide navigation business unit. The world has “really sat up and noticed” the effect of deliberate spoofing or jamming on traditional GNSS signals over the past five years, Fisher said, making it useful to mix navigation methods and give customers “an à la carte approach” based on mission requirements. That flexibility matters because each method carries limitations tied to terrain, weather, and size or weight.

The digital flip-through issue of AIN’s award-winning Farnborough Airshow News is now available online. It’s a great way to quickly scan the news from Farnborough Airshow 2026, whether you’re in the UK attending the show or watching from afar.