By Victoria Bryan and Rhys Jones
FARNBOROUGH (Reuters) - Boeing will cap off the industry's biggest event with a major order from United Airlines, the U.S. planemaker said, expected to be for 100 aircraft valued at around $9 billion.
The Farnborough Airshow was a chance for Boeing to rack up some orders for its 737 Max narrowbody, its answer to the A320 neo from European rival Airbus which stole the air show in terms of orders in 2011.
Yet with order books already full, and economies across the globe stuttering, the focus this year has been on how to deliver the planes in the backlog.
Boeing's announcement with United Airlines, expected to be for 100 737 Max aircraft, is due later this afternoon. Boeing on Wednesday announced an order with Avolon, bringing to almost 200 the number of 737 MAX aircraft sold in firm or provisional deals to leasing companies at the show.
The air show has been relatively subdued, marked by a lack of firm orders, with the majority of those placed being commitments to buy planes at a later date. Orders from airlines have been slow, with leasing companies, such as CIT and Air Leasing Corporation signing some of the biggest deals.
Saj Ahmad, analyst at StrategicAero Research.com, said despite that, Boeing had managed to demonstrate that demand for the 737 Max was alive and well.
"Even if deals have yet to be turned into firm orders - these deals will be firmed up, it's just a matter of timing given that Boeing has only recently defined the airplane's performance and customers will be poring over the finer details going forward," he said. The air show has also thrown up concerns over further delays to the Airbus A350 programme after the company admitted it was encountering assembly problems, specifically drilling holes in the wing to fasten the skins to the structure.
"Although EADS is not changing its A350 guidance at this point, we think investors are sensitive to any negative developments on the program, having been through similar issues on the Boeing 787 and A380," said RBC analyst Robert Stallard.
Airbus, which usually signals the end of the air show with a morning press conference, on Thursday morning announced four small deals in quick succession with Avolon, UTair of Russia, Middle East Airlines and Colombia's Synergy Aerospace.
Those four deals comprise 29 firm orders and commitments for 25 planes.
(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)