Will the Dubai Airshow throw up any surprises?

Airbus, Boeing and Embraer – the three major aircraft manufacturers – are getting their planes ready for the Dubai Airshow.

The Dubai Airshow opens for business next week. From November 13 to 17, the event will mark the culmination of a busy year for aviation with the next major global air show to be held in Singapore in February next year.

The year has so far belonged to India. IndiGo placed an order for 500 aircraft – the largest in civil aviation history – at the Paris Air Show in June and Air India signed up for 470 aircraft the very next day, converting its MoU into firm orders.

With Air India’s engine selection done, the Tata group does not have anything left to order in the true sense. IndiGo has not announced the engine selection for its 500 aircraft order, but it may be too early for that.

Airbus, Boeing and Embraer – the three major aircraft manufacturers – are getting their planes ready for the Dubai Airshow.

Airbus will have the A321neo, A321P2F (passenger to freighter), A330neo and ACJ 220, the corporate jet based on the A220 platform, on display.

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Qatar Airways will have the A350-1000 on static display, a sign of how the Airbus and Qatar Airways bitterness has ended after spats outside and inside the courtroom. Additionally, the Saudia group will have an Airbus A320neo on display, along with an A319 from luxury startup Beond of the Maldives.

On the first three days, the Boeing 777-9 will perform a flight display and be on static display. Air India has 10 of this aircraft type on order. Some of the Boeing aircraft will be in customer colours, and this includes the Air India Express 737 MAX, along with the 787-9 Dreamliners from Etihad and Qatar Airways, and the 787-10 Dreamliner from Saudia.

Riyadh Air, which is yet to start operations but had an aircraft painted at the Paris Air Show, will have another 787-9 on display, this time in a new livery inspired by the colours of the sky at dusk. There will be an Airbus A380 and Boeing’s 777-300ER from Emirates, the local airline.

Embraer will have the E195-E2 on display in the new Tech Eagle livery. The three companies will also have an extensive range of defence products on display, including the C295 by Airbus, which was recently inducted by the Indian Air Force.

For the past couple of months, Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube has been talking about a triple-digit order before the end of the year. This was amplified after the cancellations and pilot issues the airline faced in August and September. Akasa Air’s first order, which comprised 72 aircraft, had come in at the Dubai Airshow in 2021. The airline started operations within a year of placing this order.

IndiGo placed its first order of 100 aircraft at the Paris Air Show in 2005. It chose Paris again to place the record order of 500 aircraft. Will Akasa Air do the same with the Dubai Airshow? With the mega orders from Air India and IndiGo, Akasa Air needs more planes just to hold on to its market share.

Has the airline been able to shore up its finances to place the “three-digit order?” Will it be a firm order or just an MoU? I would guess it would be the latter, with the final signing due in early 2024 or at Wings India in Hyderabad in January 2024.

From a single fleet type to a multi fleet type and a “never say never” about wide-bodied aircraft, IndiGo has come a long way. Has it decided about its need for a widebody or does it want to pass up on the opportunity for now?

The airline is yet to finalise the layout of passenger amenities for its A321XLR, which has been delayed and is expected to enter service only in late 2024 or early 2025. This will give the airline a reach like never before and allow it to start flying to thinner markets that are over seven hours away.

Will the airline bite the bullet and close the year with a widebody order? Both Airbus and Boeing would be vying for an order from IndiGo.

In the recent past, low cost carriers have warmed up to the idea of widebody planes, with VietJet, Cebu Pacific and Lion Air group adding some capacity on this front. The LCC widebody combination has always been tricky, with the likes of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA having to do away with it, AirAsia group’s foray facing headwinds, and WOW Air folding up after the induction of widebody planes.

Beyond aeroplanes, the aircraft manufacturers also sell services including performance enhancement packages, data analytics and digitisation. There could be deals for such services.

Both Airbus and Boeing are aggressively engaging suppliers in India for parts and software for their products, which is benefitting from the ‘Make in India’ initiative. This would be one area to have a keen eye on next month.