Plane giants are preparing to squeeze the last drop out of a once raging torrent of airplane orders without the razzmatazz of recent years, as the aerospace industry heads to a belt-tightening Paris Airshow looking for new sources of revenue.

Organised by the French aerospace industry's primary representative body ─ the Groupement des industries françaises aéronautiques et spatiales (GIFAS) ─ the airshow is a large commercial event, with a major purpose being to demonstrate military and civilian aircraft to potential customers. It claims to be the most prestigious aircraft exposition in the world.

France's President Emmanuel Macron landed Monday at the Bourget airfield in an Airbus A400-M military transport plane to launch the 52nd Paris Air Show.