Dubai Airshow: wide-bodies and the 737 MAX dominated orders

At the end of the Dubai Airshow which was held last week, the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing far ahead of its European competitor Airbus, winning almost four times more orders. Wide-body aircraft as well as the single-aisle 737 MAX dominated orders.

Emirates opened the air show with a $50 billion order for 90 Boeing 777X wide-bodies (55 777-9s and 35 777-8s), the first examples of which are expected in 2025. The Dubai airline also agreed to ‘purchased five additional Boeing 787 Dreamliner wide-bodies, while sister airline flyDubai placed its first wide-body order, 30 Boeing 787-9s. Finally, Emirates opted for 15 additional Airbus A350-900 wide-body aircraft but postponed an order for 35 to 50 A350-1000s due to a disagreement with engine manufacturer Roll-Royces.

SunExpress announced an order for 45 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft (28 MAX-8s and 17 MAX-10s), and SCAT Airlines announced an order for seven 737 MAX-8s. For its part, Ethiopian Airlines announced the purchase of 20 Boeing 737 MAX-8s, almost five years after the fatal MAX accident in 2019, which resulted in the grounding of the global fleet. The Ethiopian airline has also ordered 11 additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and 11 Airbus A350-900s to add to its existing fleet.

Royal Jornadian has signed a new order for four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, while Royal Air Maroc has signed for two more Boeing wide-body aircraft. EgyptAir announced that it was ordering 10 A350-900s from Airbus and would lease 18 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from Air Lease Corporation. For its part, AirBaltic announced that it was taking on 30 additional Airbus A220-300s.

Abelo, an Irish turboprop leasing company, has signed a memorandum of understanding for a firm order for 10 ATR 72-600s from the Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer. On the other hand, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer did not obtain any orders at the Dubai Airshow.

Other major orders appear to be in the pipeline without having been publicly announced in Dubai. Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new airline, said it was still in talks with aircraft manufacturers to place an order for single-aisle aircraft. Saudia Airlines Group plans to order around 150 single-aisle aircraft for Saudia Airline and its low-cost subsidiary Flyadeal.

Turkish Airlines has held talks with Airbus to discuss a potential order for 355 new planes, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. During a meeting on the eve of the Dubai Airshow, representatives of the Turkish airline discussed the purchase of 75 A350-900 wide-bodies and 15 A350-1000 wide-bodies, as well as 250 A321neo single-aisle aircraft. and five A350-F freighters, in addition to 10 A350-900s.