Desert Rose
The Dubai Air Show 2009 ended with deals amounting to just shy of 10% of the total value of the same event two years ago, a now seemingly distant memory of what the industry was like as money “ka-chinged” through the cash registers and various financial institutions.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t a splash from Emirates, although its desire for further A380’s is almost certainly something to watch out for in the future, particularly as Airbus battles to rein in costs on the big quad.
UPS Boeing MD11F passes behind Al-Futtaim Mosque, Dubai
Wooing the crowd with its aerial displays, the A380 also provided a much needed respite from the sun as show attendees took advantage of the runways close proximity to capture an array of classic and modern airplanes frequenting Dubai International Airport.
Equally imposing was Qatar Airways’ newest 777-200LR - the venue has become a billboard event for the Doha-based carrier to let the world stage know that not everything in the Persian Gulf peninsula revolves around the UAE.
But for all pre-show headlines, the post-show discussions and analysis will remain squarely on when a meaningful industry recovery will take place and how long will airlines have to bleed to come through the other side of the tunnel to start growing again. Oil prices have continued to spike throughout the year, touching highs of around $80/barrel with premium paying customers cutting back on their travel costs - the continued strength in the Middle East is underlined largely with O&D traffic, coupled with the expansion of low cost carriers making the most of their ability to avoid reliance on high yield fares and concentrate on getting people from A to B as cheaply as possible, led by stalwart Air Arabia.
All in all, the event this time around was distinctly quieter - but in tangent with industry difficulties that brought home the challenges that have passed and those that have yet to come.
While the concept of desert mirages will never be too far away, the warm (or hot) great blue Dubai winter sky provided an awesome backdrop for the static airplane display as well as those that roared into an air of ambiguity - roll on 2011 at Al-Maktoum International Airport.
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More Dubai Air Show images located here.
26 comments November 23rd, 2009
