An order from Qatar Airways for Airbus aircraft was set to be the highlight of the second day of an air show set in which oil-rich Gulf states are dominating proceedings.

Otherwise, an update on Tuesday from U.S. planemaker Boeing Co on the progress of its much delayed and yet-to-fly 787 Dreamliner will be widely watched by markets.

The mood at the aviation jamboree, held on alternate years in Farnborough and Paris, was sombre as executives assessed how to tackle oil at records highs at $145 a barrel.

Compared with previous years, the show got off to a painfully slow start, mirrored by the slowing pace of industrial economies squeezed by credit fears and the spectre of inflation.

The main action on Monday came from Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways which disgorged $25 billion on new planes as other buyers virtually disappeared.

Soaring oil prices have turned an industry boom on its head and prompted several airlines in western consuming countries to defer or cancel existing orders for planes, casting a pall over the world's largest air show at Farnborough.

Even giant International Lease Financing Corp moved to quash its own predictions of a big order, saying no plans were set.

But Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways served up a 100-plane order worth $20 billion split between Airbus and Boeing on Monday, to fuel expansion as the emirate competes with neighbouring Dubai to become a new focal point for aviation.

And with most other airlines nursing weak balance sheets or struggling to survive oil prices which have doubled in a year, there were signs that Etihad had managed to squeeze strong discounts out of the jetliner manufacturers.

Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said the order competition for the deal had been "hard fought" and "tough".

And sales chief John Leahy conceded that while the catalogue value of the Airbus part of the order was around $11 billion, "regretfully that is not exactly the amount that was paid".

Jetliners are traditionally sold at a discount to published list prices, but analysts say price pressures on Airbus and Boeing now that a three year boom in sales appears to be over.

Noticeably absent on day one was the French defence industry with many executives staying at home for a Bastille Day parade.