Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Middle East open to new airlines to meet demand

By Shruthi Nair
  • Region to need 3,000 new jets
  • Gulf ‘ready for more entrants’
  • Middle East loads climb

Boeing sold nearly 200 jets to Middle Eastern airlines during this year’s Dubai Airshow and the US plane manufacturer believes the region is ready for “more new entrants”.

“Because of the geography and economic growth, this region will support more competition and new entrants, not only for local passengers but also for connecting economies throughout the word,” Darren Hulst, vice president of commercial marketing at Boeing, told AGBI. 

A study by the aerospace giant revealed that the region will need 3,025 new airplanes by 2042 to meet air travel demands. 

Saudi Arabia has announced plans to launch two new airlines, Riyadh Air and Neom Air, and Hulst believes the kingdom is most likely to launch new airlines in the near term. 

The International Air Transport Association announced this month that the strong post-pandemic rebound in passenger traffic trend continued in September. Total global traffic is now at 97 percent of pre-Covid levels. 

Middle Eastern airlines saw a 26.6 percent rise year-on-year in September, with the average load factor climbing 1.9 percentage points to 81.8 percent. 

Watch the full video to find out why Darren Hulst thinks that airplane ticket costs are one of  the “least inflation-impacted parts of the global economy”.

Latest articles

Smasco provides manpower solutions for sectors such as construction, healthcare and hospitality

Saudi staffing company Smasco plans $240m from IPO

Smasco, the Saudi Manpower Solutions Company, is expected to raise between SAR840 million and SAR900 million ($224 million to $240 million) from its initial public offering after setting an indicative price range of SAR7 to SAR7.50 per share. The market capitalisation of the staffing company at listing will be between SAR2.8 billion and SAR 3 […]

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas at the unveiling of the airline's livery. The company is waiting on its first order of Boeing Dreamliner 787s

Riyadh Air expands with fleet of narrowbody jets

The new Saudi airline Riyadh Air will announce a fleet of narrowbody jets later this year for a first-phase expansion that will eventually include a new terminal to meet Saudi tourism ambitions. Although its widebody aircraft come from the troubled manufacturer Boeing, Riyadh Air declined to say if the latest narrowbody orders would be from […]

Aldar Properties HQ. The developer's new bonds will be managed by HSBC and Standard Chartered

Aldar prepares for new 10-year green Islamic bonds

Aldar Properties, the largest developer in Abu Dhabi, has appointed banks for its US-dollar-denominated 10-year green Islamic bond, according to a news report. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank will lead as joint global coordinators, Reuters reported, citing a bank document. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First […]

Tourists stop for a breather at a cafe in Cairo's Khan el Khalili souq. About 14.9m people visited Egypt in 2023

Tourists keep flocking to Egypt as conflict rumbles on

Egypt’s visitor numbers rose 27 percent in the first four months of 2024, according to its vice minister of tourism and antiquities. The tourism ministry aims to increase inbound visitors by 25-30 percent this year, as it chases a target of 30 million visitors a year by 2030. Tourists from Arab countries accounted for the […]