Four major regional airlines have secured new aircraft orders on the first day of the Dubai Airshow yesterday, as airlines compete for limited supply in a market riddled with rising demand, supply chain issues and order backlogs. We also have news of other regional airlines — including the upcoming Riyadh Air and EgyptAir — securing orders in the coming days and weeks.

Emirates secures bumper USD 52 bn agreement with Boeing: Emirates has ordered 90 of Boeing's biggest aircraft, the 777X, and an additional five 787s at a value of USD 52 bn, according to a statement. The acquisition takes Emirates’ 777X order book to a total of 205 units. The first 777-9 is expected to join the fleet in 2025, with the rest inducted into its fleet until 2035, according to Chairman and CEO of the airline Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Emirates also ordered a batch of new engines: The airline secured an order of 202 GE9X engines to power the 777X aircraft, taking its orders of the engine to 460 units, according to the statement.

Part of Emirates’ expansion plans: “These additional aircraft will enable Emirates to connect even more cities, supporting the Dubai economic agenda D33 set out by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to add 400 cities to Dubai’s foreign trade map over the next decade,” Al Maktoum said. The company could have a fleet of some 350 aircraft in the early 2030s, he added.

The caveat: Boeing has been struggling with supplier issues that have resulted in defects in two of its major aircraft classes — the 737 Max and the 787 Dreamliner — and has resulted in delivery delays.

MORE BOEING ORDERS AT THE DUBAI AIRSHOW-

Dubai carrier Flydubaihas also ordered 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, in a bid to diversify its fleet with its first widebody jets, according to a press release. The new aircraft will allow it to open new routes, and grow capacity on existing routes, it said. The value of the order and the timeline for deliveries has not been disclosed.

The details: The 787-9 can fly some 296 passengers for 14k km, and carry more cargo, the statement said.. Flydubai currently operates an all-737 fleet of 79 airplanes, and has an order backlog of 137 737s.

What they said: “We are committed to offering the right product at the right time to cater to the changing market and customer needs,” flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said. “The Boeing 787 Dreamliner offers a perfect combination of operational excellence, fuel efficiency as well as passenger appeal."

Royal Jordanian + Royal Air Maroc also put in their orders for widebodies at the show:Royal Jordanian put in an order for four 787-9 Dreamliner jets to expand and modernize its widebody fleet, bringing its total backlog of 787-9 to six, according to a separate release. Royal Air Maroc also confirmed an order of two Boeing 787-9, which will allow the carrier to “expand in the short term its long-haul network in response to highly favorable market conditions in 2023,” and falls in line with the company’s aim to quadruple its fleet before 2037, Royal Air Maroc CEO and chairman Abdelhamid Addou commented in a separate release.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Egypt’s state-owned EgyptAir is set to expand its narrowbody fleet with an agreement for 18 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, slated for delivery in 2025 and 2026, Bloomberg quotes people in the know as saying. The airline will reportedly take on the aircraft as part of a leasing agreement with Air Lease Corp, the anonymous sources added, hinting that the agreement may be announced at the Dubai Airshow.

The 737 Max aircraft can seat some 170 passengers, the outlet writes. The carrier’s fleet is currently split between Boeing and Airbus SE, with some 30 units of each manufacturer in the airline’s lineup, Bloomberg reports.

SPEAKING OF WIDEBODIES-Boeing expects widebody airplanes to comprise 45% of deliveries to Middle East airlines over the next 20 years, the highest percentage of the 10 global regions featured in their commercial market outlook forecast, according to a press release. Some 3k new commercial airplanes are set to be delivered to the Middle East by 2042, including 1.4k widebodies, according to the forecast. The aircraft manufacturer sees the region’s freighter fleet doubling to 180 jets by 2040, according to the release, adding that

The Middle East single-aisle fleet is also expected to double, as low-cost carriers continue to develop and short-haul networks continue to expand. It is expected that by 2042 nearly half of the region's aircraft will be single-aisle jets, according to the release. Two-thirds of new deliveries will support air traffic and cargo growth while one-third of deliveries will replace older airplanes with more fuel-efficient models, Boeing expects.

2023 is the year of widebody orders, CEO of commercial airplanes at Boeing Stan told CNBC, adding that there will be many more wide-body for the industry, he added. He also described the Middle East as a unique region that houses vast numbers of people, forecasting that some 3k aircraft will be needed over the next 20 years, CNBC quotes him as saying.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES-

Dubai-based technology company Eanan has unveiled Dubai’s premier unmanned aircraft at the Dubai Airshow, in a bid to become the first commercially operating air mobility company in the emirate, according to a press release. EANAN’s locally engineered and produced fleet includes zero-emission heavy cargo and vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which are set to transport people and cargo across several settings and needs.

What they said:“The launch of EANAN comes at a time where there's a greater demand for making transportation more accessible, efficient, and environmentally friendly,” CEO Ali Al Ameemi said.

NOT HAPPENING AT THE AIRSHOW-

Saudi Arabia’s new PIF-backed airline, Riyadh Air, could place an order for narrow-body aircraft in the next few weeks, CEOTony Douglas told The National. The order will not be placed at the Dubai Airshow, contrary to earlier reports that they would order as many as 100 Boeing 737 Max jets at the show. The airline has concluded the campaign to select narrowbodies, with Douglas only saying it’s “sizeable.”

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