The Paris Air Show Rain Clouds Over Paris Air Show Source: Forbes.com, Lionel Laurent Jun 15, 2009 The atmosphere is subdued, though things are looking more positive in unmanned military aircraft. PARIS -- Would anyone like to buy a plane? Executives weren't exactly clambering over themselves to announce new orders at the Paris Air Show on Monday, as the first day of the event drew to a close under persistently cloudy skies. European plane-maker Airbus tried to lighten the mood with an announcement of an order by Qatar Airways, worth around $2 billion at list prices, but 4 of the 24 announced aircraft purchases were firmed-up orders that dated from last year. More telling was the silence from Dubai-based airline Emirates, which could once have been counted on for some flashy Airbus orders, but with annual profits down 72% the carrier clearly has belts to tighten. Pretty much the only goods in demand on Monday were umbrellas. By 10.30 a.m., the show's official store had run out. You could still buy a fetching waterproof poncho for 10 euros, but understandably a lot of the guests in gleaming military attire passed. "Insipid," was the judgment of one Paris regular, Arran Aerospace Director Doug McVitie. He said that even the flying displays were pretty unexciting, with the Airbus A380 and the Lockheed Martin F-16 delivering more of the same. As for turnout, McVitie said there seemed to be at least 25% fewer guests attending the show. Although talk of a recovery has zipped through countless industries over the past few months, commercial aviation knows it is in for a rough ride. Airlines are expected to lose $9 billion worldwide this year, with European airlines only now beginning to slash capacity in earnest. Honeywell Aerospace executive Bob Smith tried to sound optimistic by saying we were in a "stabilizing period," with emerging markets expected to lead the way to growth. One of these markets, Russia, had its Sukhoi Superjet-100 on display for the first time outside the motherland. Sukhoi's big announcement was a pretty disappointing "letter of intent" from Hungarian airline Malev to purchase 30 Superjets, for around $1 billion, though Malev has not yet arranged financing. One has to wonder how hard it was for Sukhoi, which is majority-owned by the Russian government, to woo Malev, which is 49% owned by Russian state-owned lender Vneshekonombank.