The Paris and Farnborough airshows are two of the largest aviation events globally. These are trade fairs, exhibiting the latest aircraft and technology to potential customers.

They take place on alternate years and attract civil and military participants from across the industry. The last Paris Air Show was in 2025, and marked the event’s 55th iteration, while the next Farnborough International Airshow will run from July 20 to 24, 2026.

The Paris Airshow

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Paris Airshow is one of the oldest airshows globally, first taking place in 1909. Germany claims to have held the first-ever show, having hosted such an event in Frankfurt earlier the same year. The first Paris show took place in September and October 1909, following the success of an aviation section within the Paris Motor Show the year before. It was held in the impressive Grand Palais in the center of Paris.

This first show, as seen above, was hailed a success, and it became an annual event. It was not held during the First World War, but resumed after 1924 and switched to every two years. It was again suspended during the Second World War but continued in 1946. It switched to odd years in 1949 (with Farnborough later taking place in even years) and has been held every two years from 1949 to 2019.

The 2021 show was canceled due to the pandemic and returned in 2023. The show is formally known as Salon International de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace Paris Le Bourget, or SIAE. The location was moved to Paris Le Bourget Airport, where it remains today. Shows before this were held at the Grand Palais but also involved flying demonstrations at Paris Orly Airport.

Aircraft On Show In Paris

Credit: Simple Flying

As a showcase for the latest in aviation, there have obviously been many impressive displays at the shows. Visitors in 1969 could see the Boeing 747 displayed in public, with a test aircraft flying to Paris only a few months after it made its first-ever flight. Concorde also made its first flying appearance at the same show. If that’s not enough, the Apollo 8 command module was on display.

In 1971, the USSR-built Tupolev Tu-144 made its first appearance. Hoever, it crashed while displaying at the 1973 show, damaging the confidence and future prospects for supersonic flight in general. Another impressive Soviet aircraft, the Antonov An-225, was displayed in 1989, carrying the Buran Space Shuttle.

There have also been plenty of first appearances of Boeing and Airbus’ aircraft. The Airbus A380, for example, flew at the 2005 show (only months after its unveiling and first flight in Toulouse). The A350-900 was shown in 2015, and the A350-1000 in 2017 – along with the Boeing 787-10 and 737 MAX 9.

The 2019 show, attended by Simple Flying (as seen above), included the A330neo and the A220-300. Simple Flying attended Paris again in 2023 and 2025. The trend of bringing the latest commercial aircraft continued, with Boeing showing the 737 MAX 10 and the experimental 777X (as it did at Farnborough). There were also some big orders, and you can see our analysis of who did best in 2023 in the article below.

The Farnborough International Airshow

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Farnborough International Airshow was a much later addition to the air show scene, with the first show taking place in 1948. Before that, there were irregular shows organized by the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. These first took place in 1932 at Hendon Aerodrome and were held annually until 1936.

Shows re-commenced only in 1946 and became the Farnborough show in 1948. It became biannual in 1962. The 2020 show was canceled during the pandemic, but an online version was held. The show resumed in 2022, and Simple Flying was there, as we were in 2024 and will be in 2026.

Aircraft On Show In Farnborough

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Before the 1970s, the Farnborough International Airshow focused on British-made aircraft. The de Havilland Comet made its first appearance at the show in 1949, followed by the Bristol Brabazon and the Vickers Viscount in 1950. In 1962, visitors could see the new Comet 4C, the BAC 1-11, and the Vickers VC10. Concorde made its debut in 1970 (the year after it appeared in Paris). The 1982 show included the Airbus A310 and the Boeing 767, and the A380 first appeared in 2006.

Boeing aircraft had been lacking for many years, since the 1990s, but this trend was broken by the 787’s appearance in 2012. In 2018, the Mitsubishi MRJ (later becoming the SpaceJet) made its first airshow appearance. The post-COVID return in 2022 featured the first UK flying appearance of Boeing’s latest 777X widebody, as well as the 737 MAX 10. There were plenty of orders too.