The first airshow of the decade also brought together heads of the international aviation community, including key political and military leaders. The number of foreign delegations grew to over 250 from almost 80 countries, from 240 from 61 countries in 2008.

'We want to get many of these VVIPs out to (meet) as many of these companies as possible,' Mr Lau said. 'We managed to meet more than 50 per cent of our exhibitors. We're going to have to improve on that.'

While 55 per cent of the space at the exhibition was occupied by the defence sector, the commercial sector by far landed the lion's share of deals.

Among the heftier commercial deals were a US $3.5 billion agreement that International Aero Engines signed with Jetstar Airways for engine selection and after-market services, as well as a $2.2 billion MOU between Brazilian jet maker Embraer and Shenzhen's CDB Leasing for aircraft financing and leasing.

The world's largest aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, announced one contract during the Airshow, a US $1.15 billion deal with Hong Kong Airlines for six Airbus 330-200 aircraft.

'We weren't expecting to announce a large number of orders,' said regional spokesman Sean Lee, adding that the market remains challenging. As it is, Airbus expects to see total orders of 250-300 this year, compared with 310 last year.

However, the trade show did give the plane maker an opportunity to promote its latest products as well as interact with a 'wide range of high quality visitors', Mr Lee said.