The biennial Dubai Airshow, a five-day event that attracts visitors from all over the world, wraps up today. It’s the fastest growing air show in the region — mirroring the growth of Dubai itself as a major hub of the aircraft industry — and has grown exponentially in the more than two decades since it began as the Arab Air Show in 1986.
Some of the world’s largest and most influential aircraft manufacturers spent the week showing off their latest and greatest products:
- Aerolux
- Alsalam Aircraft
- Gulf Aviation Academy
- Lockheed Martin
- Boeing
- Airbus
- Bombardier
- And hundreds more!
The Dubai Airshow was held at Dubai’s $32 billion new Al-Maktoum International Airport. The airport will be the world’s largest when it is completed in 2027, but it already boasts a lot of space: More than 130 jets were on display at this years’ show and over 1,000 exhibitors, 60,000 attendees, and 1,500 members of the media were able to comfortably peruse the planes.
Beating expectations
This must-attend event focuses on connecting buyers and sellers, and this years’ show facilitated an unprecedented number of deals. In 2007, over $155 billion worth of deals were executed at the airshow, and this year has already blown those numbers out of the water — on the first day alone, there were $192.3 billion in commercial jet transactions.
Three Persian Gulf carriers — Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airlines — were responsible for a large part of the deals. Together, the three organizations placed orders for 393 commercial jets. Emirates alone added 150 of Boeing’s new 777X jumbo jet and 50 Airbus A380s to its already substantial fleet.
Boeing is particularly pleased with the interest it received in the new 777X — the latest iteration in its ever-popular 777 series. In an interview with CNN, Boeing Chairman and CEO Jim McNeary says, “With around $100 billion worth of orders, this makes it the largest aviation product launch. We look forward to … continuing to support Dubai’s expansion into a global aviation hub.”
This outstanding show proves why Dubai is quickly becoming a key region for the aviation market.