Dubai Air Show Roundup: Boeing Emerges A Winner

Both Boeing BA and Airbus are emerging as winners at the 13th Dubai Air Show, although the American based Boeing is benefiting more than its European competitor. With more than 1,000 exhibitors and 60,000 trade attendees, the Dubai Air Show is expected to be the largest show in its history. Boeing launched its 777X aircraft which received a “warm” reception with total orders valued at $76 billion from Emirates airline. The Dubai based airline is continuing its quest to become one of the world's most dominant airlines with an order for 150 777Xs. Local Emirate rival airlines also placed large orders with Boeing. Flydubai announced orders for 100 737MAXs and 11 737NGs. Etihad announced orders valued at $25.2 billion for a combination of 777Xs and 787s. Qatar Airways placed a letter of intent valued at $19 billion for 50 777Xs. In total, Boeing announced it has received 367 orders valued at around $130 billion. The scale of these orders is significant for the Middle East region which will require 40,000 new pilots and over 50,000 technicians to keep up with demand. Orders for Airbus airlines include a $26.9 billion deal from Etihad for A320neos and $23 billion from Emirates for A380s. Bloomberg reported that Boeing has 86 percent of the backlog for its new 777X plane with Persian Gulf carriers while Emeriates airlines makes up more than half of total bookings of Airbus's A380. Shares of Boeing established new 52 week highs on November 18 at $142 following news reports of large orders that surfaced over the prior weekend.