Boeing Set To Win Orders Duel At Dubai Airshow

Barring any dramatic last-day deals, Boeing will have comfortably ousted Airbus in the order stakes at the 13th Dubai Airshow after securing $84 billion of new deals from Gulf carriers for the B777X, nearly twice the European manufacturer’s total order value.

On the back of the previously announced $11 billion B777X order from Lufthansa, Emirates (150), Qatar Airways (50) and Etihad (25) propelled total deals for the model up to $95 billion – and for good measure, Boeing also secured an $11 billion B737MAX deal with flydubai. Charlie Miller, vice president, International Corporate Communications, said Dubai 2013 “has been a truly historic and record-breaking air show for The Boeing Company”.

In comparison, Airbus won 160 orders and commitments worth $44 billion. Emirates placed the single largest order for 50 additional A380s, worth $20 billion, while Etihad Airways placed the single largest firm order for Airbus with 87 aircraft (40 A350-900, 10 A350-1000, 26 A321neo, 10 A320neo and one A330-200F), worth $19 billion.

John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer Customers, said with its central geography, strong economic growth and proximity to large population centres, Middle Eastern carriers stand to reap the benefits of traffic growth. “The order intake at the airshow, by value our biggest ever Dubai, is a clear evidence that the Middle East region is investing in the most modern and efficient aircraft to capture this growth,” he said.

The A330-200F scored five firm orders from Qatar Airways Cargo (plus eight commitments) and one firm order with Etihad Airways representing a total of 14 orders and commitments worth $3billion. Air Algérie also committed for three A330-200 passenger aircraft worth US$648 million.

Libyan Wings, based in Tripoli, announced the start of its operations at the airshow, choosing Airbus to build up its initial fleet with a commitment for three A350-900s and four A320neos.