As expected, Emirates made headlines on the second day when it announced a firm order for 50 Airbus A350-900s worth 16 billions dollars (list prices). Deliveries will start in 2023 and continue until 2028. Airbus received an order for 120 aircraft from Air Arabia, including A321XLR.

On the airshow’s 3rd day, easyJet ordered 12 more A320neos, Air Senegal signed a Memorandum of Understanding for eight A220-300 and flynas firmed up an order for 10 Airbus A321XLR. Also, GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) ordered 12 A330neo and 20 A321XLR.

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Dubai Airshow 2019 was hailed a success today (Thursday) by exhibitors, delegates and sponsors alike, as a lively week of trading came to a close.With more than 1,288 exhibitors in attendance, 161 aircraft on the event’s static display, and a packed schedule of conferences and keynotes, the programme was the show’s busiest to date – as evidenced by the footfall of 84,043 trade attendees. Sales were also booming, with the order book on site reaching $54.5 billion by close of business. The Dubai Airshow will return from 14 – 18 November 2021.

Boeing will position a 777X in Dubai, DXB airport next summer.

At this year’s event (17-21 November), Boeing announced orders, commitments and agreements for 95 commercial airplanes, valued at more than $17.4 billion at list prices. These include a purchase agreement with Emirates for 30 787-9 Dreamliner airplanes, Air Astana’s intention to order 30 737 MAX 8 airplanes, the purchase of 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes by SunExpress, and the order for 20 737 MAX airplanes from an unidentified customer. Boeing also announced an order from Biman Bangladesh Airlines for two 787-9 Dreamliners and a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Ghana for three 787-9 Dreamliners. In addition, Boeing and its partner AerCap announced EgyptAir is leasing two additional 787-9 Dreamliner airplanes.

Looking to the future, the company announced a strategic partnership with Etihad Airways to collaborate on growing aviation sustainably. Starting next year, Etihad will use a 787 Dreamliner as a flying test bed for assessing initiatives that could further reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Boeing also shared its vision for the future mobility ecosystem, including the Passenger Air Vehicle and Cargo Air Vehicle. “Dubai 2019 once again was an excellent opportunity to engage with and support our customers, share our latest developments at Boeing, and make new connections,” said Bernard Dunn, president, Boeing Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. “We are grateful to our hosts for organizing such an outstanding event.”

On the defense and space side, Boeing highlighted international opportunities for several platforms, including fighters, military helicopters, the T-7 trainer, the P-8 Poseidon and the KC-46 tanker, which made its Middle East debut. Boeing’s portfolio of human spaceflight was showcased, to include interactive displays on the CST-100 Starliner and the Space Launch System. The company also announced the name of its defense joint venture with Embraer. Boeing Embraer – Defense will promote and develop new markets for the C-390 Millennium medium airlift and air mobility aircraft.

Boeing drove momentum in its services business at the show, securing deals with nine customers in the Middle East, including an initial agreement with Etihad Airways for Boeing to provide multiple services for the airline’s 787 Dreamliner fleet. The agreement covers Boeing’s Component Services Program, Landing Gear Exchange, and High-Value Components Exchange programs that reduce spare parts costs while improving parts availability. These orders and agreements will provide commercial and government customers with greater life-cycle value and improved connectivity, exploration and mission readiness in their fleets. Photo: Aeronews.

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As part of the test programme, Boeing plans to position a test 777X to DXB airport in August 2020, says Clark. “We’ll have it for a month or two. This is mainly for propulsion – we want to make sure the GE engine will do all the things they say it’ll do in the kind of conditions we operate over here.” Speaking about the delivery schedule for 777-9, this depends on when the first flight takes place. Boeing told Clark that it “hopes the first flight will happen sooner rather than later”.

As Boeing aims for a first flight in “early 2020”, the aerospace giant has not outlined to Clark any delay to the recovery plan for the 777X flight-test programme. According to Clark, Boeing has “hinted at” introducing more airframes into the schedule, to which he’s said no. “I want one aircraft to go through hell on earth to make sure it all works. This is going to be a proper certification programme.” Read more on FlightGlobal.

After today’s 787-9 Dreamliner order, Emirates is left with 126 Boeing 777X on-order.

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This deal includes Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with deliveries commencing in May 2023 and continuing for the next 5 years. For the 777X, Emirates will enter into discussions with Boeing over the next few weeks on the status of deliveries. This takes Emirates’ total order with Boeing to 126 aircraft. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive, signed the agreement with Stanley Deal, President and Chief Executive Officer for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Including the US$ 16 billion Airbus A350 order on Monday, this latest announcement takes the total value of Emirates’ firm aircraft commitments at the 2019 Dubai Airshow to US$ 24.8 billion.

HH Sheikh Ahmed said: “I am pleased to announce a firm order for 30 Boeing Dreamliners. This is an important investment and addition to our future fleet and network requirements, providing us the agility, flexibility and spread of seat segments when it comes to overall capacity to serve a range of destinations as we develop and grow our global route network. This also reflects Emirates’ continued efforts to provide the best quality air transport services to our customers. The 787s will complement our fleet mix by expanding our operational flexibility in terms of capacity, range and deployment to connect new city pairs and expand frequencies. We are also pleased to reaffirm our commitment to the Boeing 777x programme and look forward to its entry into service.”

Sheikh Ahmed added: “Our Boeing fleet is key to our business model to serve international demand for travel to and through our Dubai hub, as we continue to contribute to the UAE’s strategy to become a global destination for business and tourism by providing high quality air connectivity.” Stanley Deal said: “We are excited to finalise this important order from one of the world’s leading airlines. Our agreement solidifies Emirates’ plan to operate the 787 Dreamliner and the 777X, which make up the most efficient and most capable wide-body combination in the industry. It is an honour to build on our successful partnership with Emirates and continue to sustain many jobs at Boeing and our supplier partners.”

Emirates is a powerful engine for American aerospace manufacturing jobs. Applying the US Department of Commerce jobs multiplier (every $1 billion in US aerospace exports supports 5,200 American jobs), this order will create and support over 45,000 additional jobs in US aerospace manufacturing – not only with Boeing, but also with the thousands of other suppliers in the value chain across the US, many of which are medium and small-sized businesses. Emirates’ partnership with Boeing spans decades. Emirates is by far the largest Boeing 777 operator on the planet with 155 777s in service today.

Emirates currently operates an all wide-body fleet of efficient and modern aircraft, comprising the iconic Airbus A380 and the popular Boeing 777. From its hub in Dubai, the airline serves over 150 cities on six continents, offering award-winning inflight and on ground services.

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Republic of Ghana signs MoU for three 787-9 Dreamliners

Boeing and the Republic of Ghana announced today that the country intends to re-launch an airline starting with the 787-9 Dreamliner. The parties signed a memorandum of understanding at the Dubai Air Show for three airplanes with a list price value of $877.5 million according to list prices.

“There is a growing demand for air travel to and from Ghana and we believe the advanced 787-9 Dreamliner gives us an efficient and flexible machine to launch a regional network and eventually serve international destinations in the future,” said Joseph Kofi Adda, Honorable Minister of Aviation and Member of Parliament, Republic of Ghana. “The 787 has an excellent reputation for its operational performance, fuel efficiency and passenger experience and we are confident that we have the right partner for our new carrier.”

The new carrier, to be based in Accra, would establish the capital city as a strategic hub that serves cities across West Africa. Future routes would include destinations in Europe, North America and Asia and the long-term plan is to open the airline to private investment and operation. Since entering service in 2011, the 787 family has enabled the opening of more than 250 new point-to-point routes and saved 45 billion pounds of fuel. Every day, there are more than 1,600 commercial flights on a 787 Dreamliner. This means that somewhere in the world a 787 Dreamliner takes off every minute. To date, more than 400 million passengers have flown on the airplane.

Air Astana wants 30 737 MAX 8s for FlyAristan

Air Astana intends to order 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes to serve as the backbone of its new low-cost airline FlyArystan, the Kazakh flag carrier and Boeing announced at the Dubai Airshow. The companies today signed a letter of intent for the 30 airplanes with a list price value of $3.6 billion.

Since beginning operations in May 2002, Air Astana has steadily grown its business from its hubs in Almaty and Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana), sprouting a network that serves major cities across Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Asia, China, Europe and Russia. It operates a growing fleet that includes the Boeing 757, 767 and the Airbus A320 family.

In May, Air Astana launched FlyArystan to better compete in the growing low-cost segment. The company says the new airline has seen strong ticket sales in just the first few months of operation. The plan is to expand the fast growing domestic network, with international services to Moscow commencing next month.

EgyptAir leases two more 787-9s from AerCap

EgyptAir is growing its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet with an agreement to lease 2 more airplanes from AerCap, the airline announced today at the Dubai Airshow. AerCap will lease a total of eight 787s to EgyptAir. The Egyptian flag carrier unveiled it had selected the super-efficient airplane to modernize its fleet during the last Dubai Airshow in 2017. The carrier began operating the 787-9 this year, deploying the Dreamliner on new direct flights from its hub in Cairo to Washington, D.C., and other cities. EGYPTAIR says the 787s have delivered on the Dreamliner’s promise of unmatched efficiency, providing a 23-percent reduction in fuel consumption compared to the airplanes they replaced.

EgyptAir joins other 787 operators in expanding its commitment to the Dreamliner program after experiencing the airplane in revenue service. More than half of all 787 customers have placed repeat orders for the airplane, helping the Dreamliner become the fastest-selling widebody airplane in history. The biggest 787 customer is Dublin-based AerCap with 117 airplanes owned and on order.

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easyJet orders 12 more A320neo aircraft

easyJet has exercised purchase rights to increase its fleet of A320neos by 12 new aircraft. The agreement takes the carrier’s total order for the A320neo Family to 159 aircraft and its overall orders for Airbus single aisles to 480 A320 Family. easyJet currently operates over 1,000 routes with a fleet of 333 A320 Family aircraft (39 A320neo Family and 294 A320ceo Family) and serves over 155 European airports in over 30 countries. From its first A320 Family delivery in 2003, easyJet has grown to operate Europe’s largest A320 Family fleet and is also Europe’s largest customer for the NEO. At the end of October 2019, the A320neo Family had received more than 7,000 firm orders from over 110 customers worldwide.

Air Senegal, Memorandum of Understanding for eight A220-300

The MoU was signed today in the presence of HE Alioune SARR, Minister of Tourism and Transport Senegal. The A220s’ efficiency will enable Air Senegal to reduce the airline’s operating costs while offering passengers unrivalled comfort throughout its fleet. Earlier in 2019, the carrier was the first African airline to fly Airbus’ new generation widebody aircraft, the A330neo, featuring latest technology engines, new wings with enhanced aerodynamics and a curved wingtip design, drawing best practices from the A350 XWB.

Mr Ibrahima Kane Air Senegal CEO said: “These new 220 aircrafts will contribute to develop our long-haul network to Europe and our regional network in Africa. Combined with our recent A330neo aircraft, this new Airbus fleet reveals Air Senegal’s ambition to offer the best travel experience for our passengers.” By the end of October 2019 the A220 had accumulated 530 orders.

flynas firms up 10 Airbus A321XLR

flynas, Saudi Arabia’s first low-cost airline, has signed a firm order for 10 A321XLRs at the 2019 Dubai Airshow. The agreement was signed by Bandar Almohanna, flynas Chief Executive Officer and Christian Scherer Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. In 2016, flynas signed an agreement for 80 A320neo family and currently operates a fleet of 27 A320ceos and 4 A320neos. In 2018, the airline transported more than 6.6 million passengers on 60,000 domestic and international flights. The airline is currently operating over 1,200 flights weekly to 17 domestic destinations and 53 international destinations.

GECAS orders 12 A330neo and 20 A321XLR

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric, has signed a firm order for 12 highly efficient wide-body Airbus A330neos and 20 long-range single-aisle A321XLRs. The agreement for the A321XLR includes an order for 13 new planes and the upsizing of seven A321s in its existing backlog. The latest order takes the total number of A330 Family aircraft ordered by GECAS to 45 and all variants of the A320 Family to 588.

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The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced in February and it included 30 A350-900s and 40 A330neo. Today, at the press conference held at Dubai Airshow, HH Sheikh Ahmed said that the discussions about A330neo are still going on, as well as those on the 787-10 Dreamliner.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum: “Today, we are pleased to sign a firm order for 50 A350 XWBs, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. This follows a thorough review of various aircraft options and of our own fleet plans. It is Emirates’ long-standing strategy to invest in modern and efficient aircraft, and we are confident in the performance of the A350 XWB.

“Complementing our A380s and 777s, the A350s will give us added operational flexibility in terms of capacity, range and deployment. In effect, we are strengthening our business model to provide efficient and comfortable air transport services to, and through, our Dubai hub.” Sheikh Ahmed added: “This deal reflects our confidence in the future of the UAE’s aviation sector, and is a strong affirmation of Dubai’s strategy to be a global nexus connected to cities, communities and economies via a world-class and modern aviation sector.”

“We are honoured by Emirates’ strong vote of confidence in our newest widebody aircraft, taking our partnership to the next level. The A350 will bring unbeatable economics and environmental benefits to their fleet,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to seeing the A350 flying in Emirates colours!”

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Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, said: “Air Arabia’s fleet growth strategy has always been driven by commercial demand and we are glad to announce today one of the region’s largest single-aisle orders with Airbus to support our growth plans. This new milestone underpins not only our solid financial fundamentals but also the strength of our multi-hub growth strategy that we have adopted over the years while remaining focused on efficiency, performance and passenger experience. The addition of the A320neo, A321neo and A321XLR complements our existing fleet and allows us to expand our service to farther and newer destinations while remaining loyal to our low-cost business model. We look forward to working with Airbus and receiving the first delivery.”

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are delighted to expand our partnership with Air Arabia, this is a great endorsement for the A320neo Family which will allow the airline to tap into new markets. We are committed to supporting the fast expansion of Air Arabia and the region”.

Air Arabia is an all Airbus operator with a total fleet of 54 A320 Family aircraft including the A321LR. All aircraft will feature a comfortable single-class cabin with one of the most generous seat pitches today.

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The specially-themed 787 will enter service in January 2020 to Brussels and operate regular flights in Etihad Airways’ network, while periodically serving as a test bed for assessing environmental sustainability initiatives. Beyond the environmental testing on the airplane, the two companies will build on the technical capabilities that Etihad Airways has developed while maintaining its own Dreamliner fleet and that of other operators. As part of the strategic partnership, the companies are discussing several areas where they can work together to improve operational efficiency.

The project builds on Etihad’s ample experience with the super-efficient airplane. “Innovation, productivity and sustainability are core values and objectives of Etihad Airways and of Abu Dhabi said Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive of Etihad Aviation Group, at the 2019 Dubai Airshow. “The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a key enabler of all three.” “The 787 Dreamliner and its track record of environmental performance makes it the perfect platform to advance our industry’s commitment to sustainable growth,” said Stan Deal, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Etihad Airways to identify more opportunities to improve efficiency across commercial aviation.”

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“We are honored and humbled by the trust that SunExpress has placed in our team at Boeing. They have been a wonderful partner over the years, demonstrating every day the efficiency and reliability of the Boeing 737 across their growing network,” said Stan Deal, president & CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We regret the impact the MAX grounding has had on SunExpress and their passengers. The Boeing team is working hard to safely return the airplane to service and providing the capacity for SunExpress to continue serving as the backbone of air travel in the Turkish tourism industry.”

The airline, which specializes in offering direct connections between Europe, Turkey and popular holiday destinations, has achieved significant growth in recent years as it steadily expanded its fleet of mainly Boeing 737 airplanes. Last year, SunExpress’ passenger count climbed to nearly 10 million across roughly 100 destinations.

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