Quarter of new passenger jets destined for the Middle East
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A quarter of the world’s new passenger planes are on order with Middle Eastern airlines, Gulf News has reported. The figure was revealed by Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group, who was highlighting the region’s strategic importance during a keynote speech at the inaugural MRO Middle East Conference and Exhibition in Dubai.
“25% of the world’s new passenger jets are destined for a place in this region,” Sheikh Ahmad was reported saying. “Over the past few years, at the major air shows – Dubai, Paris, Farnborough – all of the big fleet announcements have come from the Gulf region.”
Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways are among the world’s fastest growing airlines and have hundreds of new aircraft on order. Emirates currently has 168 planes on order worth US$58 billion at list prices, Sheikh Ahmed said. Abu Dhabi’s Etihad ordered 205 Boeing and Airbus planes at the Farnborough Air Show last year worth US$43 billion at list prices, while the expansion plan of Qatar Airways involves an order book of 200 planes worth more than US$30 billion, the report said. New airlines in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE have also placed orders for dozens of planes.
Along with fleet expansions, governments in the region are also building bigger and better airport facilities. Gulf News noted that work is underway at airports in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
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