To be sure, it is a macho affair, with afterburners rattling the windows during the afternoon flyovers and hot-shot pilots executing perfect Immelman turns and inside loops over the viewing stands. One can't help but be impressed when a twin-engine fighter banks away and those on the ground see it spit fire out the engine exhaust.

Talk about your carbon footprints!

This year's Paris Air Show was also the coming out party for the Airbus A380, a 555-seat, double-decked behemoth that will have a hard time squeezing into the gate at most airports. "It's just too big for the current aviation system," one skeptic said during the air show.

Days after the Paris Air Show ended, French President Nicolas Sarkozy inaugurated an extension of a terminal at Charles de Gaulle International Airport to accommodate the world's largest passenger airplane.

Sales of the A380 during the air show were reportedly brisk, including at least one well-helled individual apparently in need of a flying hotel.

Airbus rival Boeing Co. maintained a low profile during the air show, focusing instead on issues like a transatlantic "green skies" initiative.

Since then, Boeing has rolled out its 787 Dreamliner.

No doubt the 787 will be trading barrel rolls with the A380 at next year's Farnborough Air Show.