The Dubai Airshow (Arabic: معرض دبي للطيران) is a biennial air show held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in cooperation with Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dubai Airports, Dubai World Central and the UAE Armed Forces.[2] It is organised by Tarsus Aerospace since 1989. The event is "open to business professionals and industry only".[3]

Dubai Airshow
معرض دبي للطيران
2007 static display
StatusActive
GenreAir show
DatesNovember
FrequencyBiennial: Odd years
Location(s)Dubai World Central
Country United Arab Emirates
Established1986; 38 years ago (1986)
Most recent2023
Next event2025
Attendance84,043 (2019)[1]
ActivityTrade exhibition, aerobatic and static displays
Organized byF&E Aerospace
Websitedubaiairshow.aero

History

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1986

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The Dubai Airshow started life as Arab Air in 1986 - a small civil aviation trade show which F&E organised at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

1989

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The first Dubai Airshow was held in 1989 at Dubai Airport, spurred on by substantial Middle East investment in civil and military aviation. The Dubai Airshow grew from 200 exhibitors and 25 aircraft in 1989.

 
A Eurofighter in 1998

1991

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In 1991 due to the outbreak of the Gulf War, the show was moved from January to November and it had a strong military focus given events in the region.

2001

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The 2001 show took place just six weeks after the events of September 11, 2001, and closed with record order book of US$15.6 billion.

2003

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The Dubai Airshow 2003 was the fastest-selling in the event's history, 550 companies from 36 countries participated.

2005

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An Emirates Airbus A380 in 2005

In 2005 the Airshow hosted the debut of the A380 in the Middle East. It arrived in full Emirates livery for its largest customer.

2013

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In 2013, 1,046 exhibitors came from 60 countries, drawing 60,692 trade attendees for a record $206.1 billion order book of aircraft, parts and MRO deals.[4] The display presented 163 aircraft.[5] Emirates made the highest price airliner order with $99 billion for 150 newly launched Boeing 777Xs plus 50 options and 50 Airbus A380s.[6][7]

2017

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2017 aerobatics display team

Airbus displayed the A350-900 and A319 airliners, and the A400M and C-295 military airlifters, Beriev its Be-200ES jet amphibian, Boeing the 737 MAX 8 and 787-10 jetliners, Bombardier Aerospace the CS300 small narrowbody, Embraer its Phenom 100 small business jet, and Sukhoi its Superjet 100 regional jet.[8] Organizers forecast 9% more visitors than in 2015 to 72,000, joined by 1,200 exhibitors, 1,350 media representatives and 160 aircraft on display and claims to be the largest after Le Bourget and Farnborough, but before Singapore Air Show by number of exhibitors, square meters and visitors.[9]

On November 12, Emirates committed to purchase 40 Boeing 787-10s in two- and three-class cabins for 240 to 330 passengers, to be delivered from 2022 with conversion rights to the smaller Boeing 787-9, pushing orders for the 787-10 from 171 to over 200.[10] The order is worth $15.1 billion at list prices.[11][12]

On November 15, Indigo Partners (unrelated to Indian LCC IndiGo) signed a memorandum of understanding for 430 Airbus: 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos for $49.5 billion at list prices; Indigo controls Frontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost start-up JetSmart, holds stakes in Mexican budget airline Volaris and European LCC Wizz Air: 146 aircraft will go to Wizz, 134 to Frontier, 80 to Volaris and 70 to JetSmart.[13] The same day, Flydubai commit to order 175 Boeing 737 Max and 50 purchase rights for $27 billion at list prices: Max 8s, Max 9s and 50 Max 10s.[14]

In 2017, 874 commitments and options were announced including 15% firm, compared with 67 in 2015 and 684 in 2013, 74.9% from LCCs, 15.7% from lessors and 8.1% from mainline carriers. These were mainly narrowbodies with 825 against 47 widebodies, Airbus had 547 commitments for a $28.2 Billion market value and Boeing had 301 for $19.5 Billion.[15]

2019

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On the opening day of the Dubai Airshow 2019, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Sheikh Hamdan took a private tour the latest Emirates A380. A similar aircraft also led the way during the opening procession of the Dubai Airshow 2019.[16]

On 18 November 2019, the second day of the biennial airshow, Emirates announced an order worth a total of $16 billion for 50 Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The delivery for the largest deal of Airbus was scheduled to begin from May 2023.[17] Also on the 18th, Air Arabia ordered for 120 Airbus A320 family aircraft, including 73 of the high-efficiency A320neo variants and 23 A321XLR with a total book value in excess of $14 billion.[18]

On 19 November, the Emirates signed an agreement to purchase 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The deal was valued at $8.8 billion.[19]

The order book on site reached $54.5 billion by close of business at the Dubai Airshow 2019.[20]

2021

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The 2021 Dubai Airshow began on 14 November 2021 and lasted for 5 days until 18 November 2021.[21]

Indigo Partners placed firm orders for 255 A321 Neo aircraft. Jazeera Airways placed an order for 28 A321 Neos. Ibom Air ordered 10 A220s. Air Lease Corporation ordered seven A350 freighters.[22] On November 16, Indian airline Akasa Air also placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.[23] Jetex was the official FBO at the show.[24]

The Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate made its international debut at the show.[22]

Israeli companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems participated at the show for the first time.

2023

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Al Fursan at Dubai Airshow 2023

The 2023 Dubai Airshow was held from 13 to 17 November 2023.

On 13 November: Emirates placed an order for 90 777Xs; Flydubai placed an order for 30 787-9s; and SunExpress placed an order for 28 737-8s and 17 737-10s with options for a further 45.[25] Also airBaltic placed an order for 30 Airbus A220-300s.[26]

On 14 November: Ethiopian Airlines placed an order for 20 737-8s with options for a further 21 and an order for 11 787-9s with options for a further 15;[27] Egyptair ordered ten A350-900s.[28]

On 16 November Emirates placed an order for 15 A350-900s.[29]

Aircraft making their initial appearances at the Dubai airshow included the: Boeing F-15QA; Chengdu J-10s of the August 1st (aerobatic team) and KAI KUH-1 Surion and KAI LAH.

Russia operated its own pavilion separate from the main exhibition hall. Russian equipment on display included the Ka-52E and the Il-76MD-90AE. The Russian Knights performed in the flying program.[30] The show resulted in no new deals for Russian aircraft.[31]

Israeli pavilions were unstaffed after the Israeli Ministry of Defense instructed companies such as Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems not to attend due to security concerns arising from the Israel–Hamas war.[32]

Flying display

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2011 aerobatics display team video

The flying display demonstrates the technical capabilities of exhibiting companies aircraft. The flying display at the Dubai Airshow has included the Airbus A380, A400M, F-16, F/A-18, F-22 Raptor, V-22 Osprey, B-1B, Eurofighter Typhoon along with aerobatic displays by international teams including Patrouille de France, Red Arrows from the UK and Al Fursan from the UAE.

References

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  1. ^ "DUBAI AIRSHOW CLOSES TO ACCLAIM" (Press release). Tarsus F&E LLC Middle East. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Dubai airshow sets global order record" (Press release). Tarsus F&E LLC Middle East. 17 November 2013. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  4. ^ "Dubai airshow makes history" (Press release). F&E Aerospace. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  5. ^ "FDI Soars At Dubai Airshow" (Press release). F&E Aerospace. 20 November 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  6. ^ Shweta Jain (17 November 2013). "Dubai Airshow 2013: Emirates places biggest order worth $99b". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  7. ^ Dean Irvine (21 November 2013). "Dubai Airshow sees record $192 billion in orders on frenzied first day". CNN. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Commercial Show of Strength Expected at Dubai". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Nov 6, 2017. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  9. ^ Peter Shaw-Smith (November 8, 2017). "2017 Dubai Airshow Expected To Be Largest Yet". AIN. Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  10. ^ David Kaminski Morrow (12 Nov 2017). "Emirates set to push 787-10 backlog over 200". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Emirates places US$15.1 billion order for 40 Boeing 787 Dreamliners at 2017 Dubai Airshow" (Press release). Emirates. 12 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Boeing, Emirates Announce Commitment for 40 787-10 Dreamliners" (Press release). Boeing. 12 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
  13. ^ Stephen Trimble (15 Nov 2017). "Indigo Partners signs MoU for 430 A320neos". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  14. ^ Mavis Toh (15 Nov 2017). "Flydubai commits to 175 737 Max aircraft". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Late surge gives Dubai deal momentum". Flightglobal. 16 Nov 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Dubai Airshow: Off to a flying start". Arabian Aerospace. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Emirates announces order for 50 Airbus A350s worth $16B". FOX45 Baltimore. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Air Arabia orders 120 Airbus aircraft". HMG Aerospace. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  19. ^ "Dubai Air Show 2019: Emirates signs $8.8bn Dreamliner order". Breaking Travel News. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Dubai Airshow closes with deals exceeding $54bn". Arabian Business. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  21. ^ "DUBAI AIRSHOW – THE FUTURE OF THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY". www.dubaiairshow.aero. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  22. ^ a b Deena Kamel (18 November 2021). "Dubai Airshow ends on optimistic note for travel industry's recovery". The National. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Akasa Air Orders 72 Fuel-Efficient 737 MAX Airplanes". www.investors.boeing.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Jetex Named Official FBO Of Dubai Airshow 2021". FBO Networks, Ground Handling, Trip Planning, Premium Jet Fuel. Archived from the original on 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  25. ^ "Emirates opens Dubai Airshow with $52 billion aircraft purchase from Boeing". Arab News. 13 November 2023. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  26. ^ Christine Boynton (13 November 2023). "AirBaltic Orders 30 A220-300s As Airbus Works On LCY Certification". Aviation Week. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  27. ^ Alvin Cabral (14 November 2023). "Dubai Airshow: Ethiopian Airlines places order for up to 67 Boeing jets". The National. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  28. ^ Deena Kamel (14 November 2023). "Dubai Airshow: EgyptAir places order for 10 Airbus A350s amid fleet expansion". The National. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  29. ^ Natasha Turak (16 November 2023). "Boeing bonanza leaves rival Airbus in the dust at 2023 Dubai Air Show with three times more aircraft orders". CNBC. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  30. ^ Alexander Cornwell (15 November 2023). "Russian arms makers kept to low profile at Dubai Airshow". Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  31. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  32. ^ Dean Shmuel Elmas (15 November 2023). "Defense Ministry bans Israelis from attending Dubai Airshow". Globes. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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