EXCLUSIVE Aviation DXB to grow to ‘absolute maximum’ ahead of airlines’ move Dubai International Airport is to be expanded “to its absolute maximum” in the next few years, its operator has told AGBI, so there is time to prepare the city’s second airport for the arrival of Emirates’ and Flydubai’s entire fleets. Dubai Airports’ CEO, Paul Griffiths, added that the development plans for Al Maktoum International (DWC) […] November 15, 2023
Video length: 01:47 Dubai Airshow Aviation Boeing remains cautious on prospect of supersonic flight Neom Investment Fund – part of the Saudi giga-project Neom – has invested in US aircraft manufacturer Boom Supersonic, and Riyadh Air is also considering supersonic flight in its future projects. Saudi Arabian entities, it appears, are not fazed by the view of some industry experts that faster-than-sound flight poses unique difficulties. Darren Hulst, commercial […] November 15, 2023
Aviation India and Gulf tipped as key markets for private jet hire Private jet operator Vista Global Holding is expecting the Middle East and India to be its fastest-growing markets in the luxury aviation industry. The Dubai company’s “pay for hours flown” platform, VistaJet, has a fleet of about 360 aircraft available at 24 hours’ notice. “The most dynamic and fast-growing markets for us are the Middle […] November 15, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Emirates chief bemoans Boeing and Airbus duopoly Emirates chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum has bemoaned the duopoly that exists between Boeing and Airbus Group when it comes to the production of wide-body aircraft. The Dubai flag carrier has experienced lengthy delivery delays stretching back five years for its Boeing 777X aircraft, while concerns were also raised this […] November 15, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Russia’s Aeroflot resumes flights to Abu Dhabi Russia’s largest airline Aeroflot has resumed regular flights from Sheremetyevo Airport to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Four weekly flights will be operated on narrow-body Boeing 737-800 to the UAE’s capital, a company spokesperson said at Dubai Airshow this week. The airline will operate from Abu Dhabi International Airport’s new Terminal A, which is capable of […] November 15, 2023
Dubai Airshow Transport Work begins on Flydubai’s $56m training facility Dubai’s low-cost carrier Flydubai said work has commenced on its $56 million full-flight simulator (FFS) and training facility, which will be fully operational by January 2025. “With more than 130 aircraft scheduled for delivery by 2035, the pressure of confirming available training slots with third-party simulator providers is alleviated by having our own simulator facility,” […] November 15, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Increase air fares to save planet, says Dubai Airports CEO Adding 20 percent to the price of an airline ticket to fuel the aviation industry’s sustainability charge will be money well spent in order to keep a “clear conscience” on the climate threat, according to the CEO of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths. Giving a keynote address at Dubai Airshow on Tuesday morning, Griffiths said the […] November 15, 2023
Aviation Saudia close to signing order of 150-plus narrow-body jets Saudia Group, which owns the Saudia airline and budget carrier flyadeal, is close to agreeing an order for 100 narrow-body jets but wants the manufacturer to agree to supply an additional 50-plus, it said on Tuesday. Abdullah Al Shahrani, the group’s general manager of communications and media affairs, declined to identify the aircraft manufacturer but […] November 15, 2023
Transport Kuwait Airways seeks damages over Airbus delays Kuwait Airways expects compensation from planemaker Airbus for delays in delivering commercial jets, the chairman of the Middle Eastern airline told Reuters on Tuesday. Aerospace and other manufacturers are struggling with supply chain bottlenecks. This year, pressure has been growing on planemakers to start paying penalties. “We are discussing it with them. There will be […] November 15, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Airbus chief defends Rolls-Royce engines French plane manufacturer Airbus has defended its Rolls-Royce engines following words of caution from Emirates president Tim Clark. The Dubai carrier’s chief told reporters on the second day of the Dubai Airshow that he wanted improvements on durability and maintenance costs before going ahead with any plans to buy Airbus A350 jets. His comments came […] November 14, 2023
Opinion Aviation Emirates: A lesson in stability and success The record profits announced by Dubai’s national carrier are rooted in careful planning November 14, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Transport Emirates to build $950m engineering facility in Dubai UAE carrier Emirates will invest $950 million to build a new engineering facility at Dubai World Central (DWC) to support the UAE’s aviation infrastructure. Spread over one million square metres, the engineering complex will be the “largest and most advanced” one to be operated by any airline. “The new facility will enable Emirates to be […] November 14, 2023
Transport Air Arabia profit up 25% on rising passenger demand Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia reported a 25.5 percent rise in profit in the third quarter of 2023, on robust passenger demand and effective cost control measures. Net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, rose to AED522 million ($142 million), compared to AED416 million a year ago. Revenue for the period reached AED1.63 billion, recording […] November 14, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation EgyptAir needs 34 more aircraft to meet demand EgyptAir will need to increase its fleet size by more than a third to cope with demand, the airline’s group chairman and CEO, Yehia Zakaria, said at the Dubai Airshow on Monday. Zakaria was speaking as the state-owned carrier announced a lease agreement with the US-based Air Lease Corporation covering 18 Boeing 737-8s. Deliveries of […] November 14, 2023
Analysis Aviation Gulf’s thriving private jet industry uncowed by eco concerns The Gulf’s private aviation industry is buoyant as executives, ruling family members and other wealthy individuals use its services to travel across the region and beyond. In the first half of 2023, there were 7,300 private flights to or from Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub, which is part of Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). […] November 14, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Flydubai announces $11bn wide-body Dreamliner deal Low-cost carrier Flydubai has announced the biggest change in its 15-year existence, with an order for 30 wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Flydubai’s chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, said on Monday that the $11 billion order “signals a new chapter for the airline”. The airline is best known for its fleet of narrow-body […] November 13, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Supersonic a future option as Riyadh Air builds fleet Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new flagship airline which is set to start flying in 2025, is still in talks with Boeing over further orders for wide and narrow-bodied aircraft. “We’re in continued negotiation with manufacturers about aircraft,” chief operating officer Peter Bellew said on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow on Monday. “We’ve ordered 39 […] November 13, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Gulf’s low-cost carriers fuel demand for smaller aircraft The number of single-aisle aircraft in the Middle East is expected to more than double in the next 20 years on the back of a predicted rapid expansion for low-cost carriers and short-haul networks. By 2042, nearly half of the planes operating in the region will be single-aisle jets, according to a commercial market outlook […] November 13, 2023
Transport Emirates 777X deal to kick-start Dubai Airshow Middle East carriers look set to order tens of billions of dollars of long-haul jets at the opening of the Dubai Airshow on Monday, as Emirates renews confidence in the delayed Boeing 777X while facing new competition from rivals like Turkish Airlines. Hosts Emirates and low-cost cousin flydubai are expected to stamp their mark early […] November 13, 2023
Transport Neom fund invests in US supersonic aircraft maker Newly launched Neom Investment Fund (NIF) has invested in Boom Supersonic, a US company developing the world’s fastest airliner. The value of the investment was not given. However, Boom confirmed that the total funding to date now exceeds $700 million. As part of the agreement, Boom and NIF will collaborate on opportunities to make the Gulf […] November 13, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Saudi Arabia and UAE drive air travel recovery Flight bookings to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for the last quarter of this year are up by as much as 70 percent on pre-pandemic levels, new figures reveal. Data compiled exclusively for AGBI by the travel intelligence company ForwardKeys shows that as of early October, Saudi Arabia led the region for growth in seat […] November 13, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Aviation in struggle to reach net zero targets Gulf commercial airlines have committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 by switching to sustainable aviation fuels, adopting new technologies and buying carbon offsets, among other measures. But they face challenges in doing so. The aviation industry hopes measures such as these will enable it to realise two seemingly conflicting ambitions: doubling the volume […] November 12, 2023
