=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/06/22/f= inancial1422EDT0009.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, June 22, 2003 (AP) Business off sharply at Paris Air Show amid aviation industry gloom JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer (06-22) 11:22 PDT LE BOURGET, France (AP) -- Dealmaking declined nearly 30 percent at the Paris Air Show from two yea= rs ago, but organizers said Sunday they are hopeful economic conditions will improve in time for the next edition in 2005. The 45th air show wrapped up Sunday, opening its doors to the public for= a day of aerial displays by some two-dozen aircraft. Yves Bonnet, who heads the air show, said the total value of deals announced at the eight-day show fell to $32 billion from about $45 billion at the previous rendition in 2001. "It's a drop, but far less than we could have feared," Bonnet said in an interview at the suburban Le Bourget airport. "This was a good air show given that the industry is in crisis." At the height of the Cold War, the air show was a major dealmaking venue. Soviet and American defense firms pitched their wares and technologies side by side and rival plane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing would announce scores of new orders at the show. This year, the airline industry is struggling to survive after the Sept. 11, attacks, the SARS outbreak, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and general economic gloom. European plane maker Airbus was the big winner in sales, announcing a total of about $20 billion in preliminary aircraft deals and firm orders from airlines Emirates, Korean Air and Qatar Airways. Archrival Boeing received a preliminary deal to sell nine planes worth about $1.5 billion to Korean Air. Another highlight of the show was cooperation agreements signed between Russian defense and aerospace company Sukhoi with French engine maker Snecma, European defense giant EADS and French defense company Dassault Aviation, Bonnet said. "This air show was really about preparing for the future," he said. The American presence was sharply curtailed this year. U.S. military officials said demands in Afghanistan and Iraq required their aircraft and pilots to remain deployed -- but many perceived the absence as a payback to France because of differences over the war in Iraq. Only 206 planes were on display this year -- 20 fewer than at the last show in 2001 -- and exhibit space declined 5 percent. The show was first held in 1909 -- six years after the Wright brothers' historic flight. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP