Dubai air show is growing into a position to compete with Paris and Farnborough in the scale of the activities, displays and even with the aircraft orders.
The number of orders reflects the lengthening lead time before available deliveries and, perhaps, some common sense by airlines, lessors and manufacturers. An emerging issue on the supply line is that engine manufacturers are seeking hard guarantees on maintenance issues and costs.
Aircraft orders & options
- airBaltic ordered 30 Airbus A220-300s
- Egyptair ordered ten A350-900s
- Emirates ordered 90 B777Xs, including 55 B777-9s and 35 777-8s
- Emirates ordered 15 A350-900s
- Flydubai ordered 30 787-9s
- Ethiopian Airlines ordered 41 B737-8s and 26 B787-9s with options for 15 and 21 more
- Ethiopian Airlines ordered ordered 11 A350-900s
- SunExpress ordered 28 737-8s and 17 737-10s with options for more, totalling 56 B737-8s and 34 B737-10s.
The deal that was NOT announced
A large sale to Turkish Airlines, for an expected 355 aircraft only reached “agreement in principle for a significant commercial aircraft order.”
New aircraft
Aircraft making their debut at the Dubai airshow included:
- Boeing F-15QA
- Chengdu J-10s of the August 1st aerobatic team
- Gulfstream G500 and G700
- KAI KUH-1 Surion and KAI LAH
Current events
Russia operated its own pavilion separate from the main exhibition hall. Russian equipment on display included the Ka-52E and the Il-76MD-90AE. The Russian Knights performed in the flying programme.
Israeli pavilions were unstaffed after the Israeli Ministry of Defence instructed companies such as Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems not to attend due to security concerns.
