Boeing says focus at air show on 'supporting customers', not orders

US group Boeing said Monday it would focus on supporting its customers at the Paris Air Show instead of the traditional announcements of plane orders, in the aftermath of Air India's 787 Dreamliner crash.

The sales rivalry between Boeing and European aerospace giant Airbus usually drives the headlines as the world's top civilian planemakers announce many of their biggest orders at the air show in Le Bourget.

But Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said last week he was cancelling plans to attend the biennial event to focus on the investigation of the Air India crash.

"Our focus is on supporting our customers, rather than announcing orders at this air show," a Boeing spokeswoman told AFP at the trade fair outside Paris.

The London-bound Dreamliner crashed shortly after take off in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing 241 passengers and crew and another 38 on the ground. One passenger survived.