Long-haul carrier Emirates opened the Dubai Airshow with a $52 billion purchase of Boeing Co. aircraft. The move showed how aviation is recovering from crashes caused by the coronavirus pandemic and by Israel’s war with Hamas.
The conflict, as well as the war in Ukraine, will affect the five-day exhibition at Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum Airport. It is the city-state’s second airfield after Dubai International Airport, which is the world’s busiest in terms of international flights and a base for long-haul carrier Emirates. The company made the announcement at a press conference on Monday afternoon with the participation of Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.
Immediately afterwards, sister airline FlyDubai announced its intention to purchase 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which will be the first wide-body aircraft in its fleet. While commercial aviation takes up most of the attention, arms manufacturers also have their displays at the show. Two major Israeli firms – Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd – were expected to exhibit.
However, on Monday morning, as a flood of visitors poured into the exhibition, the IAI booth with the slogan “Where Courage Meets Technology” was fenced off and empty. Coffee was being handed out at the Rafael booth, although no vendors were present. A request for comment left by a booth staff member was not immediately answered.
Rafael also sponsored a meeting of air force commanders at a luxury Dubai hotel on Sunday, signalling a balancing act by the UAE amid Arab world anger over the war between Israel and Hamas. The UAE, which is a federation of seven sheikhdoms, established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020.
Russian Helicopters employees are likely to attend the air show after it took part in the Abu Dhabi arms show earlier this year despite sanctions from the United States and other countries imposed over Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. Russia’s state-owned space company Roscosmos is also taking part in the show.
Global aviation has boomed since the coronavirus pandemic, with aircraft shut down and grounded around the world, especially at Al Maktoum airport, which served as a car park for Emirates’ double-decker Airbus 380s for months.
According to the International Air Transport Association, air traffic is now at 97 per cent of pre-outbreak levels. Traffic on Middle Eastern airlines, which provide key east-west routes for global travel, was up 26.6 per cent in September from a year earlier, according to IATA.
Emirates Airline announced a record half-year profit of $2.7bn on Thursday. This is up from $1.2bn in the same period last year, which could take the airline to another record. The airline says it has repaid about $2.5bn of loans taken out at the height of the pandemic to stay afloat.
Tim Clark, Emirates’ president, told Bloomberg in September, “Stay tuned” when it comes to purchases from Airbus and Boeing during the air show. The airline is hiring a large number of new pilots and crew members, likely to service the new planes. Clark said:
“We’ve got a lot of big plans for the airline going forward. New fleet, larger numbers, larger network.”
Also in the market is Riyadh Air, a new Saudi carrier being set up as part of trillion-dollar spending plans in the kingdom. In March, the airline announced an order for up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft and has further expansion plans.
Turkish Airlines may also make a record purchase of 355 aircraft from Airbus, including 250 A321neo jets, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.
By Monday afternoon, Boeing announced that SunExpress, an airline jointly owned by Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, had committed to buying up to 90 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft. The deal includes 28 Boeing 737-8 and 17 Boeing 737-10 models, with an option to purchase an additional 45 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The companies did not disclose the dollar amount of the deal.
