First orders from Paris Air Show

Qatar Airways has ordered 24 new aircraft

The first deals have been done at this year's Paris Air Show, with Qatar Airways ordering 24 Airbus A320 jets.

The list price of the planes is $1.84bn (£1.13bn), but airlines usually get discounts, especially in recessions.

Orders are expected to be relatively slow at the show, with many airlines considering delaying existing orders as they struggle to fill their flights.

But Spanish airline Air Nostrum has confirmed an order for 35 Bombardier CRJ-1000 jets, listed at $1.75bn.

The airline is the launch customer for the new model. Bombardier had previously announced the order, but not the customer.

In another development, aerospace giant Rolls Royce said it had clinched a $1.5bn order to supply and maintain engines for 20 Airbus A330 aircraft in Bahrain-based Gulf Air's fleet.

And Hungarian airline Malev said it had signed a letter of intent to buy 30 Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft, in a deal worth up to $1bn.

'Freefall has stalled'

Boeing has said it is not expecting large number of orders at the show.

Boeing’s head of commercial aircraft, Scott Carson, speaks to Nigel Cassidy

"We don't save the orders for the air shows," Boeing's chief of commercial aeroplanes, Scott Carson, told the BBC earlier on Monday.

But the airlines are not really cancelling existing orders either, for fear of falling behind rivals once an economic recovery gets underway.

Such a recovery could be well underway by the time the air show returns to Farnborough next June, Mr Carson said, insisting "the freefall has stalled".

In the meantime, Boeing and rival aircraft maker Airbus are both having to help the airlines buy their planes by assisting them in raising finance.

In some cases, this involves them lending the airlines money, which in turn diverts funds from other activities, such as takeovers or research and development.

But this is a short-term problem, Mr Carson stressed, pointing to a considerably brighter future.

"Long-term, we see this as a great market," he said.

Engine orders

Rolls-Royce said it had secured $2.1bn in new orders for its engines.

The bulk of the order came from Gulf Air, which signed a $1.5bn deal for the engines to go on 20 Airbus A330 jets.

There were also orders from Qatar Airlines, Germany's Condor, and Royal China.

There was also news from the air show that Vietnam Airlines is planning to buy two Airbus A350 jets and 16 A321 planes.