SHOW REPORT Dubai Air Show 2021
Window of opportunity
The 2021 Dubai Air Show on 14-18 November saw a muted return to the mega-deal announcements which were such a characteristic of the event before the Covid pandemic. BILL READ FRAeS and WAYNE DAVIS FRAeS report from the UAE.
Bill Read/RAeS
This November saw the return of the Dubai Air Show, widely known as the Middle East’s premier international aerospace trade event.
Unlike the Farnborough Air Show in 2020 and the Paris Air Show in June 2021, both of which suffered the trauma of having to be cancelled, the Dubai Air Show was fortunate to be held at just the right time as Covid travel restrictions eased and was able to maintain its biennial schedule on 14-18 November next to Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central. Since the event, the threat of further travel restrictions due to the new Omicron strain of Covid may mean that future events are not so lucky.
This year’s Dubai Air Show was the largest ever, with 1,200 exhibitors representing 371 companies from 148 countries, including 20 country pavilions and new additions from the Czech Republic, Belgium, Brazil, Israel and Slovakia. There were also civil and military delegations from more than 140 countries. Over 160 aircraft were on static display and in the air, including the first appearance of Boeing’s new 777X and the Russian Irkut MC-21 commercial passenger aircraft.
According to the show organisers, around 85,000 visitors attended across the week. Although business at the 2019 Dubai Air Show proved to be a little muted, previous Dubai shows were characterised by multi-million dollar orders for aircraft and aviation services, as airlines continued to expand their fleets in anticipation of ever-increasing demand. However, the onset of the Covid pandemic abruptly ended such expectations and airlines and related businesses had to endure around 18 months of trying to survive until travel restrictions were eased and demand began to pick up again.
The 2021 Dubai Air Show was also different from previous events in that there were strict health precautions to avoid the risk of infection from Covid-19. All participants at the show were expected to wear facemasks at all times, including in the exhibition hall, on the flight line and at press events.
As the date of the 2021 Dubai Air Show approached, there was much speculation as to the extent that business growth would ‘return to normal’ and whether there would be a return to the big deals of yore. In the end, the show proved to be one of the most successful events for many years, closing with over Dh286bn ($78bn) of new commercial and defence contracts. Although not as high as the eye-watering $200bn in sales announced at the 2013 show or even the $114bn of deals at the 2017 show, the figures for the 2021 event were Dh100bn higher than the Dh183.6bn ($50bn) total announced at the previous Dubai Air Show in 2019.
However, the 2021 Dubai Air Show was not just about sales and deals but also encompassed a wide variety of other themes.
Just about every aspect of aerospace was represented – encompassing space, UAVs, UAMs, civil aviation, defence, GA, business aviation, MRO, ATM, fuel, airports, R&D, equipment and service suppliers. The event hosted a series of ‘thought-leadership’ conferences and presentations were held at open forums in the exhibition hall which featured leading experts and practitioners from the aerospace sector talking about current themes and future trends. The forums included Cargo Connect – talking about air freight; Global Air Traffic Management; Tech Xplore which looked at trends in 5G, AI, cyber security and automation; Aviation Sustainability; Advanced Aerial Mobility; and Space Forum. There were also areas within the exhibition hall devoted to future research into new technology, alternative platforms, new power sources and enhancing aviation’s environmental profile.
Regional turboprop manufacturer ATR is to re-engine its 42- and 72-600 twin-turboprops with a new update of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW127 engine called the PW127XT engine series. Maria Della Posta, President, Pratt and Whitney Canada, claimed that: “the new engines were 3% more fuel-efficient while offering a 30% improvement in performance”. Air Corsica is to be the launch customer with an order for five aircraft. ATR also announced two orders for its ATR 72-600, one for four aircraft plus one option from Binter Canarias in the Canary Islands and the second from Romanian national carrier TAROM for three aircraft.
- ATR also announced orders for three ATR 72-600s from Afrijet in Gabon, five ATR 72-600s from Air Corsica and a preliminary commitment for two ATR 42-600S variants from new Japanese carrier Toki Air. Toki Air operates from Niigata and Sato Airports with the latter using a particularly short runway making the STOL (short take-off and landing) variant of the ATR 42-600 ideal for increased mobility within its operational area.
- The Royal Thai Air Force has ordered eight Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine light attack aircraft, together with ground support equipment, spare parts, training and other equipment.
- Abu Dhabi-based precision-guided weapons specialists Halcon (a division of the EDGE Group) won a Dh3.2bn ($880m) contract from the UAE Armed Forces to supply its Thunder and Desert Sting range of precision-guided munitions.
- Martin-Baker displayed a new ejection seat, the US18e, which has been selected by Lockheed Martin to replace the ACES II seat in the F-16 Block 70/72.
- There was speculation that the proposed sale of 50 F-35s to Abu Dhabi might be confirmed at the show but a month later the UAE said it would suspend talks with the US over the deal, citing restrictions placed by Washington.
- Rolls-Royce is to supply replacement engines for Azerbaijan cargo carrier Silk Way West Airlines RB211-powered Boeing 747s.
- Etihad has signed an MOU with GE to work on initiatives to lower CO emissions from Etihad’s 787 2 fleet, as part of the airline’s sustainability programme.
- Abu Dhabi-based Sanad, the aerospace engineering and leasing division unit of Mubadala, signed an agreement with GAL, the MRO division of Edge, for maintenance service support for Rolls-Royce's Trent 700 engines which power the UAE’s Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet.
- Mubadala Investment Company-owned aerospace engineering and leasing company Sanad has signed an MoU with the Saudi-based Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC) to collaborate in joint capabilities across advanced aero-engine repairs.
- Rolls-Royce signed an agreement with Etihad to collaborate on ways to test sustainability on Etihad’s Airbus A350s.
- Saudi Arabian Airlines low-cost carrier flyadeal has signed a seven-year TrueChoice overhaul agreement for the CFM56-5B engines which power its 11 A320-200s.
- Sanad and Lufthansa Technik Middle East signed a technology collaboration agreement to develop innovation and technology solutions to digitalise maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations within the aviation industry.
- Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier Saudia announced a number of MRO and service agreements, one of which was with Boeing for analytics to improve maintenance operations and on-time performance of its Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft fleets. Saudia’s own Jeddah-based MRO unit, Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI), signed an MoU with Thales to develop line maintenance and to form an industrial partnership for repairs of aircraft parts. SAEI also announced a ten-year partnership with Honeywell to provide inspection, repair, overhaul and upgrades for 131-9 auxiliary power units (APU) installed on Boeing 737NGs and Airbus A320s.
- Royal Jordanian renewed a component maintenance contract with Lufthansa Technik for another five years.
- A new partnership was announced between two Dubai-based companies AeroGulf Services and the LorEau Aviation Group. LorEau Aviation also signed an MoU with aircraft construction support service provider ARTS Solutions to provide technical consultancy while LorEau will provide MRO inspection services at ARTS’ Toulouse operations.
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer announced a new contract with Nigeria’s Overland Airways which will see the African operator purchase three new E175s, with the option of three further purchases in a deal worth $299.4m. The 88-seat aircraft will be delivered from 2023. Meanwhile, Cesar Pereira, VP for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Embraer Commercial Aviation also stated that Embraer’s proposed turboprop aircraft are close to launch, with an announcement expected towards the end of 2022 and an actual launch in 2027. There will be two families of turboprops, while the engine selection process should conclude next year. Embraer is also reported to be considering options for a freighter conversion programme for its E-Jets following increased demand for smaller cargo aircraft as a result of the recent increase in e-commerce due to the Covid lockdown. Discussions are also reported to be continuing with Boeing about collaboration on a future military project.
- Bahrain-based MENA Aerospace Enterprises announced a new partnership with European Group SPARFELL covering aircraft and passenger handling supervision services, aircraft hangarage and charter services.
- Boeing secured a long-term contract for the supply of titanium products for its commercial aircraft with the Russian metals company VSMPO-AVISMA. Titanium parts from VSMPO-AVISMA are used on the Boeing 737, 767, 787, 777 and 777X.
- Airbus signed an MoU with Tawazun Economic Council to establish a wholly owned facility in Abu Dhabi to explore potential co-operation opportunities in refuelling solutions for military air systems and uncrewed aerial systems.
- Jetstream Aviation Training & Services is to provide Dubai-based Dynamic Advanced Training with EASA-approved cabin crew training, including aircraft simulators, jungle survival and polar survival rooms and a pool with wave and storm effects.
- EARTH, a company within the EDGE Group, signed a deal with L3Harris Technologies to open a WESCAM MX-Series electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) systems service centre in the UAE.
- Airbus Corporate Jets signed a letter of agreement with in-flight entertainment specialists Alpha Star Aviation for the ACJ Smart LiFi Monitor.
- Sabena Technics is to market Leonardo’s UK-manufactured Miysis directed infrared countermeasure (DIRCM) to VIP aircraft operators in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
In conclusion, the 2021 Dubai Air Show saw a welcome return to the traditional face-to-face airshows of the past with a resurgence of orders both for new commercial aircraft, as well as a wide range of ancilliary equipment and services. There were a number of new aircraft on first-time display, while new technology was also very much in evidence with the showcasing of a wide variety of innovative new eVTOL, electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft designs. Once again, the Dubai Air Show has confirmed its status as the leading airshow for the Middle East, showing the economic revival of the region. It is only to be hoped that the ongoing continuation of Covid-19 will not adversely affect the hosting of other large-scale airshows in 2022.
Pilatus
Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus launched its new PC-7 MKX single-engine basic trainer at the show. The aircraft features a cockpit fitted with 'smart avionics' designed for a variety of missions, including a primary flight display, navigation moving map, flight management system, engine indicating and crew alerting system.
Bahrain announced that the first of a new fleet of 16 Lockheed Martin Block 70 F-16s will now not be delivered until 2024. There are also plans to upgrade Bahrain’s Block 40 F-16s while the ageing Northrop F-5 Tiger will be retained as a lead-in fighter trainer.
Etihad Cargo entered into a proof-of-concept agreement to utilise SPEEDCARGO’s artificial intelligence products to boost cargo capacity on flights.
Emirates is to install Premium Economy cabins in 53 Boeing 777s and 52 more A380s, an addition to possible seat upgrades to 777 Business Class cabins. The upgrades are to start in late 2022 at the Emirates Engineering centre in Dubai.
Pratt & Whitney Canada and NIMBUS Aerospace announced that the PT6A-67T engine has been selected to power the Legenda 550 and 570 12-seat re-engined Antonov-2 regional biplanes.
Bill Read/RAeS
Engineering company Egis won a deal to expand the terminal at Dubai International Airport.
Gulfstream Aerospace appointed Dubai-based integrated private aviation specialist Empire Aviation Group as its authorised international sales representative in India.
Australian search and surveillance specialist Sentient Vision Systems has joined forces with Airborne Technologies in Austria and UAE and UK Aircraft Integration Specialist company Phoenix Aerospace to create a Middle East centre of excellence for sensor integration focused on the AW139 ViDAR SCAR (Self Contained Aerial Reconnaissance) Pod.
Russian Helicopters announced a number of new deals, including an MoU for four Ansat and one Mi-17-1V helicopter with the Ras Al Khaimah police and two Mi171A2 helicopters to an undisclosed customer in Peru.
The winner in the show orders announcements race was Airbus which announced 408 potential aircraft orders (269 firm orders plus 139 commitments), the largest of which was for 255 A321neo Family aircraft from equity firm Indigo Partners which was distributed among its partner airlines Wizz Air (75 A321neos and 27 A321XLRs), Frontier (91 A321neos), Volaris (39 A321neos), JetSMART (21 A321neos and two A321XLRx). Volaris and JetSMART are also to upconvert 38 A320neos to A321neos from their existing aircraft backlogs.
Airbus also signed a letter of intent with US-based aircraft lessor Air Lease for 111 Airbus aircraft, including seven of the newly launched A350F, together with 25 A220-300s, 55 A321neos, 20 A321XLRs and four A330neos.
Other orders included an MoU with Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways for 20 A320neos and eight A321neos, as well as ten A220s for Nigerian government-owned Ibom Air. Air Senegal is also to acquire five Airbus A220-300s under a lease agreement with a division of Macquarie AirFinance. Airbus also received orders for two A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) from the United Arab Emirates Air Force, plus two A400Ms for the Indonesian Ministry of Defence.
Airbus
Bill Read/RAeS
Runner-up in order announcements was Boeing with 101 orders, including 72 738-MAXs and 737-8-200s for new low-cost Indian carrier Akasa, as well as deals with Air Tanzania for an additional Boeing 787-8, two 737 MAXs, one 767-300F, one 787-8, and one 767-300F.
Boeing Capital secured a sales agreement with UAE leasing and MRO company Sky One FZE for three 777-300s.
DHL Express placed an additional order for nine 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighters while Israel Aerospace Industries is to convert four Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER into freighters to use in its SkyCargo division.
The UAE flagship carrier is also to acquire two new 777Fs.
Boeing also announced that the company is to open two new freighter conversion lines at KF Aerospace in Canada, as well as one at London Gatwick MRO, for which the launch customer will be Icelease which has ordered 11 737-800BCFs.
Boeing showcased its new 777X at Dubai but did not announce any orders for the new aircraft.
There was speculation that Boeing might launch a cargo version at the show but the airframer explained that it is currently concentrating on certificating the passenger versions.
Boeing SVP Mike Fleming announced that the aircraft has now flown over 1,700 flight hours and that first delivery is expected in 2023.
