DUBAI: With overwhelming response from buyers, the Dubai Airshow 2013 has set new benchmarks in all business lines making one of the record breaking events in the aviation expo history.
It was never going to match its record-setting, opening day order intake, yet there was no let up on the Dubai Airshow’s second day, which has been characterised by a flurry of orders, options and intercontinental accords.
By the close of Day two, the total order intake at the show, which runs at the Dubai World Central aerotropolis until Thursday, tallied $193.9 billion following on from a day earlier historic $192.3 billion toll – the largest in any airshow history.
“It still makes excellent reading,” Sharief Fahmy, CEO, F&E Aerospace, which organises the show in conjunction with the Dubai Government, said.
“There’s a huge buzz around the exhibition hall with manufacturers and service suppliers increasingly recognising the purchasing power of the Gulf, wider Middle East and emerging African regions.”
Abidjan-based airline, Air Côte d’Ivoire – the national airline of the Ivory Coast -began the second day’s activities by signing a conditional purchase agreement with Bombardier Aerospace for two Q400 NextGen aircraft with options for an additional two. Based on list price, the value of the two firm-ordered Q400 NextGens is approximately $69 million – with the order value rising to $141 million if the options are taken up.
Bombardier scooped a second dividend with the news that Dubai’s Palma Holding Limited has become the first Middle Eastern lessor for its Q400 NextGen aircraft with the signing of a letter of intent to buy eight of the dual-class aircraft. Based on the list price, the potential contract value for the Palma deal, covering four A400 firm orders and four options, would be approximately $282 million.
“We are working to conclude lease structures with interested airlines including existing A400 NextGen operator Ethiopian Airlines,” Moulay Omar Alaoui, President, Palma Holding Limited, said.
Newly-launched Tripoli-based airline, Libyan Wings, which is due to begin passenger and charter flights from the beginning of next year, signed an MOU with Airbus for three A350-900s and four A320neos.
Turkish Airlines revealed at the show that it has selected the full suite of Rockwell Collins avionics, including its industry-leading MultiScan Threat Detection System and GLU-925 Multi-Mode Receiver and SATCOM for 17 Airbus A330s, 25 Airbus A320s, 20 Boeing 777s and 20 Boeing Next-Generation 737s with deliveries to begin next year. The carrier also entered into a long-term, customised, price-per-repair service agreement with Rockwell Collins to support avionics on its new fleet.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Infinity, a leading vertical aviation player, announced it has selected the USA’s FlightSafety International to design and equip its new, $267 million ISS Aviation Academy planned for Riyadh. Infinity is the major investor in the 50,000 square metre academy which will be equipped with full flight simulators and other advanced technology training devices. ISS says the academy will operate to world standards and help provide some of the 20,000 pilots the Middle East is expected to need over the next decade.
Another partnership sealed at the show was between Boeing and Abu Dhabi’s Tawazun Precision Industries (TPI) to set up a production aerospace surface treatment facility in Abu Dhabi’s Tawazun Industrial Park. The project is due to be commissioned in 2016 with Boeing providing manufacturing and technology expertise as well as programme management best practices to support the new facility as it applies for aerospace certifications.
The project, made possible by the Tawazun Economic Council, will provide Boeing with a certified, state-of-the-art facility for design-specific machined and treated metal aerospace parts and gradual progression to complex sub-assemblies.
“The establishment of this capability is a significant step for the UAE’s aerospace industry as the metallic components manufacturing and metallic sub-assembly will be entirely performed in the UAE,” Saif Al Hajeri, CEO, Tawazun, said.
Meanwhile, with the Dubai Airshow’s business demonstrating its expanded regional outreach taking in North Africa, the Arabian Gulf and wider Middle East, its holding company, the Tarsus Group and the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, announced they will launch the first International Aviation Industry Congress 2014 in the Henan province capital. Zhengzhou is creating China’s first Comprehensive Experimental Zone for Airport Economic Development – an aerotropolis on the scale of the UAE’s own Dubai World Central. The city’s Deputy Mayor, Xue Yunwei, said the October 2014 event, will comprises three events in one: the China International Aviation Hub and Logistics Exhibition; China International Aviation Industry Summit Forum and the General Aviation Static Show and Flying Display.