If you believe everything you read in the papers, you could easily think Dubai is finished, but ALAN PEAFORD visits the Dubai Airshow 2009 and finds the event still has the taste of success

With the aerospace industry in disarray and the media insistent that the Dubai bubble has burst, visitors to the 11th edition of the Dubai Airshow could have been forgiven for imagining they would be greeted by rolling tumbleweed and thin attendance. Instead they found a show brimming with confidence and an industry that found itself discovering positives as it celebrated being in an area that has defied the downturn.

“Of course, we have felt the effects of the problems with the global economy,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, the Chairman of Emirates Airline and the head of civil aviation in the emirate. “Some industries have suffered but we have continued to see growth here in the aviation business,” he avers. While those growth figures are no longer in the double-digit, they are still impressive and that is something that Sheikh Ahmed wanted the world to take notice of. “Our airlines are going ahead with our investments. We are not cancelling. We are leaders not followers and we have proved before that we are prepared to take risks when others are sheltering.”

The thumping optimism was music to the ears of the many CEOs and company presidents among almost 900 exhibitors from more than 100 countries. “Our numbers are up from the record-breaking show two years ago,” said organiser Alison Weller, Director, F&E Aerospace. “We have seen an overall growth of around 10 per cent for the show and we have had to turn away requests for aircraft to display on the static. If we had more space available we could have filled it.”

Third largest business-to-business aviation event in the world, this year the Dubai extravaganza was expected to shift to the new Dubai World Central complex at Jebel Ali, giving it the space to nudge out Farnborough International from the coveted second place behind Paris. However, the infrastructure of the new venue had not been completed and the show remained at Dubai International Airport. According to Sheikh Ahmed, the government will review whether the new site will be ready for 2011 but, if not, he said he would work with the organisers to ensure growth at the existing location.

A Lot Of Good Signs For The Future

Exhibitors found that while the show had little in the way of order announcements, it more than made up for it with the calibre of visitors. Marwan Attalla, CEO of the Jordanian training company Ayla, said: “We were very pleased with the level of visitors we saw from the airlines and the industry. There were a lot of good signs for the future.” The United Arab Emirates civil market, which has traditionally led the way with mega-orders through Emirates or Etihad airlines, remained quiet and the new orders came instead from the military side.

During the show, Sweden’s Saab announced that the UAE would buy two Saab 340 turboprops equipped with the Erieye radar for SEK1.5 billion ($217 million; Rs 1,000 crore). The deal allows the UAE to deploy an airborne radar to handle rescue operations, border security and air-to-air surveillance in combat, but US contractors contend that the UAE will continue to pursue a more advanced platform and system than the Saab 340 for the long-term. The UAE was dropping hints of strong interest in the UK’s R1 Sentinel airborne standoff radar (ASTOR) platform, utilising the Bombardier Global Express business jet and modified by Raytheon.

Boeing and Northrop Grumman officials, who had proposed the 737 Wedgetail and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, respectively, argued that the Saab 340 is an interim capability. The UAE still plans to buy a more advanced system after learning how to use an Airborne Early Warning & Control platform. The 737 and E-2D -and, possibly, the Saab 2000 -will remain in contention for the final contract. Both the E-2D and the 737 Wedgetail made appearances side-by-side on the static line, with the latter overcoming three years of delays to be en route for delivery to the Royal Australian Air Force. RAAF officials plan to operate the Wedgetail as a training asset only until glitches with electronic support measures equipment are resolved.

Achievement & Anticipation

Another strong winner at the show was Swiss manufacturer Pilatus which won a contract worth $491 million (Rs 2,270 crore) to provide the UAE with a new pilot training system based on its PC-21 turboprop. The deal covers the delivery of 25 PC-21s from 2011, plus related ground-based training equipment and logistics support.

Pilatus says its selection followed “an extremely tough and thorough evaluation by the UAE”, which had also considered types including the Alenia Aermacchi M-311 and Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano. The Swiss manufacturer had emerged as the front-runner earlier this year to secure the deal, and Alenia Aermacchi’s choice to not exhibit its M-311 jet at the show appeared to have confirmed the decision before an announcement.

Alenia Aermacchi is already negotiating the sale of 48 of its M-346 Master advanced jet trainers to the UAE. The Italian firm was credited with having won the advanced trainer contract back in February but plans to confirm that deal at the show were held back as negotiations continue. Sources in UAE air force say there is a reluctance to be the first major customer for the type.

It wasn’t just Alenia awaiting news of a big deal. Throughout the week of the show there was expectation that the UAE Air Force might announce the long-awaited order for a new fleet of French-made Dassault Rafale fighters but the show came and went with the agreement remaining on hold. However, hints that the deal is on its way became apparent when an Abu Dhabi-based joint venture created in anticipation of such a deal, moved forward.

Since announcing their partnership last February, MBDA and Baynuna Aviation have completed the process of incorporating the joint venture, said Jean-Luc Lamothe, MBDA Group Director for Export. The new business is set up to first produce systems for MBDA weapons that would accompany a Dassault Rafale purchase, he said. It would eventually also perform final assembly work on weapons in the Rafale armament package.

The MBDA-Baynuna joint venture will start operations in January, Lamothe said. “At this moment, things seem to be progressing rather well.” Starting up a new weapons manufacturing plant is a relatively slow process, requiring the joint venture to start operations even in advance of a signed contract, he said.