The biennial Dubai Airshow has opened its doors, showcasing the latest and newest aircraft in the fast-growing fleet of Gulf carriers.
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The first major sale to trickle in on Monday was the $8 billion order for 75 Boeing 737 Max placed by India’s Jet Airways – the biggest order for Boeing by an Indian carrier in years.
“We’re anxious to see what happens to the weapons projects”, said one executive.
The US Navy is continuing to purchase the type, but Boeing needs an order of 12 aircraft from the service in 2016 and from the Middle Eastern customer to keep the line economically viable.
Additionally, Boeing and Tawazun Precision Industries (TPI), a subsidiary of Emirates Defense Industries Company (EDIC) signed a significant contract to manufacture complex metallic machined parts for tactical aircraft at TPI’s new treatment facility, now under construction in Abu Dhabi.
The airline isn’t announcing any orders at the show because its medium-twin campaign hasn’t been finalized and Airbus has not launched an A380neo, which Clark has been pushing for.
Asked ahead of the show whether Qatar Airways would expand its fleet of wide-bodies that includes Airbus A380s, chief executive Akbar al Baker said “wait and see”.
Falling oil prices and unrest in a few parts of the region have taken their toll – in fact the show is set to be dominated by the presence of arms manufacturers as Gulf states make security a priority.
Asked about comments by industry sources that Airbus is already discussing such a plane with potential airline customers, Bregier said, “Not that I am aware of”.
Boeing says its modernised 777X family will be the most efficient wide-body jets, relative to the number of seats. Resale prices underpin values across the market. At the 2013 Dubai Airshow, Emirates announced it was purchasing 300 units of the engines, valued at $16 billion. This is demonstrated by the strong order book and deliveries for the 787 and 777, underlining how Boeing is meeting customer demand in the region by focusing on enhancing passenger experience and improving operating economics and capability.
Wojick said it expects to sell “about” as many as planes as it delivers in 2015, leaving it about 200 aircraft to sell in under two months. A manufacturing center of excellence will initially produce aerostructures for the AH-64 Apache helicopter and compete for additional manufacturing work packages across Boeing platforms, both commercial and defense. The Airbus tally stands at 910 gross orders and 850 net.
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Boeing is not planning on introducing any new model before 2022 while it focuses on other development programs, Wojick said.
