Up, up & away

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The Dubai Airshow got off to a promising start with Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum proclaiming that the industry was on the cusp of a business upturn.

Some 890 exhibitors from 47 countries were relieved to hear the president of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and chairman of Dubai Airports and Emirates Airline, say that Dubai stands ready to be at the forefront of the economic upswing.

“The Airshow comes at an important time for the aerospace industry as the world begins to see a revival in fortunes. During the past two years, the business has experienced unprecedented turbulence. However, I am very pleased that many of the organisations at the show this year were among those that continued to invest in the industry during the worst of times.”

This year’s five-day event saw an increase of over 7000 square metres in exhibition space and 13 dedicated national and regional pavilions - a 10% increase on 2007. Add to that, more than 100 civil aviation leaders from 33 countries - a third of which were airline presidents and CEOs – and the event appears to have survived the impact of the global financial crisis.

Airplane manufacturer, Boeing, was not feeling quite as buoyant, however. Its president and CEO of commercial airplanes, Jim Albaugh said it expects sales in the Middle East aviation market to be flat during the next few years, but added that the region would continue to have a good growth outlook in the long term.

“If you look at the Middle East from a traffic standpoint it has grown about 12% per year over the last five years and it is one that we think will continue to grow,” he said. “If you contrast that to the rest of the world it has grown faster and is one that will continue to have very good growth prospects.”

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In the short term, Albaugh said he believes “next year’s [aircraft] sales will be fairly flat…. [and] are going to be off for several years”, however, he forecast enthusiastically that the 787 would be on display at the Dubai Airshow in two years time. Boeing has a backlog worth US$144 billion for the delayed 787 model, of which Qatar Airways has ordered 30, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has ordered 15, Gulf Air has ordered 24 and Etihad Airways has signed up for 35.

On a positive note, Boeing signed an agreement with Mubadala Development Company, that will see Abu Dhabi becoming a composite manufacturing base, however the announcement came a day after Boeing’s rival, Airbus signed two agreements with the government owned investment arm. The Airbus deals confirm the manufacture of aileron composite panels and the production of assembled aileron shipsets for the A330/A340 aircraft series.

The cooperation with the European plane maker is expected to generate in excess of $1 billion of revenue for Mubadala Aerospace during the next 10 years as it lays out its plans to establish the emirate as a global aerospace hub.

Staying with Airbus, and on day two of the Airshow, the manufacturer struck it lucky with Yemenia, the official carrier of Yemen, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire 10 A320 aircraft. The aircraft will be used to expand services on regional, African, Indian and European routes.

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