Skift Take
The most important airshow in the Middle East will see airlines from the UAE and Saudi Arabia trying to grab the best aircraft delivery slots for their growth plans. Airlines from India will also be there to do business.
The 18th Dubai Airshow is upon us, and this year’s is setting up as a contest between UAE and Saudi Arabia – which country will order more aircraft?
Skift will be covering the event at the Dubai World Centre Airport from November 13 to 17. The 2021 airshow was the first major one after the Covid-19 pandemic and had 104,000 attendees.
One thing we’ll be tracking is commercial orders from at least 5 big buyers.
Emirates: All eyes will be on Emirates, but there are no orders in the pipeline from it yet. The airline already has a large number of Boeing 787/777X and Airbus A350 orders outstanding, but it might be out shopping for cargo aircraft.
Given the build-up in the region, with Saudi Arabia now investing heavily in its aviation sector, Emirates might open its checkbook to protect its turf.
FlyDubai: However, FlyDubai, a regional carrier, might be ready with an announcement. CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith had indicated earlier that they would place an order in Q4 2023. The airline already has 137