The Paris Air Show opened to the general public Friday under grey skies and a gloomy outlook for the financial crisis-hit aviation industry.

Friday’s opening for the general public followed four days that were reserved for industry professionals and journalists.

The first part of the show, not surprisingly, was lackluster in terms of new contracts and big announcements, compared to previous years.

Airbus fared the best, which isn’t saying much. It benefited from an offer from the Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air, which placed an order for 50 units of the A320, bringing their total acquisition of the model to 100. American archrival Boeing announced the sale of two aircrafts.

As for regional aviation, the show featured newcomer Sukhoï, a Russian manufacturer, who received over 120 solid orders since launching their new line of bioreactor regional jet - the Superjet 100 – presented for the first time at this year’s show.

Placements of aircraft orders were low overall, a sharp contrast from the last Paris Air Show in 2007, which was a record-breaking year for sales. Nevertheless, French Transportation Minister  Domnique Bussereau, who visited the show Thursday, deemed that this year’s show was a success.