All The Biggest Aviation News From The Show

With the second day of the Dubai Airshow under wraps, Boeing has continued to dominate its European rival, Airbus, which has only two orders during the trade show. Additionally, Emirates has continued to make headlines at the event, even without ordering aircraft on the second day of Dubai Airshow.

Emirates criticizing the Airbus A350-1000

One of the significant attention-grabbing stories of the second event day was Tim Clark, the President of Emirates, criticizing the Airbus A350-1000, specifically the aircraft’s engines. Clark said that while the Rolls-Royce XWB-97-powered aircraft has been on Emirates’ radar, with the airline eyeing an order between 35 and 50 units, the engine’s ability to stay on the wing has disappointed the carrier. Clark noted that Emirates does not “buy airplanes that are defective.”

“If the engine did what we wanted it to do and Rolls-Royce knows what we want it to do, and so does Airbus, then we would re-enter [the Airbus A350-1000] into the assessment for our fleet.”

In a statement to Simple Flying on the same day, a Rolls-Royce spokesperson said that the XWB-97 is “a good engine and we’ll be continuing to ensure it improves as we look to potentially rolling in some of the new technologies from our UltraFan demonstrator programme.” In addition, they added that the company has continued to invest and develop its products, with the A350-1000’s engine being no exception.

Read more: Emirates President Says Airbus A350 Engine Is ‘Defective’

On the same day, Emirates also announced a deal with Safran worth over $1.2 billion. The French company will supply business, premium economy, and economy seats for the airline’s upcoming Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777X fleets and the current Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. “Safran is also working closely with the airline on its current retrofit programme, which includes providing new seats for the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380,” Emirates added.

Photo: Davide Calabresi | Shutterstock

Airbus’ second order of the event

Still, the European manufacturer’s representatives had a reason to be upbeat, with EgyptAir clocking in Airbus’ second order of the event. The flag carrier of Egypt ordered 10 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, with its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yehia Zakaria and the manufacturer’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Head of International, Christian Scherer, signing the agreement at Dubai Airshow. Scherer stated that the A350-900 will become EgyptAir’s “flagship aircraft,” adding that,

“[Adding the A350-900 to EgyptAir’s fleet] will be instrumental in expanding its offering, opening new opportunities particularly in Western US and the far East.”

EgyptAir also signed a lease agreement with Air Lease Corporation (ALC) for 18 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft a day prior. As a result, the Egyptian airline will leave the trade show having increased its backlog of both Airbus and Boeing aircraft, as well as narrowbody and widebody jets.

Photo: Airbus

Ethiopian Airlines ordering the 737 MAX

Ethiopian Airlines also made waves on the second day of the event as the African airline signed an agreement with Boeing for 67 aircraft. The order is split between 41 Boeing 737 MAX and 21 787-9s, 20 and 11 of which are firm orders, respectively. Apart from the fact that the order was large in aircraft numbers, it also marked the first time that Ethiopian Airlines ordered the 737 MAX since its fatal crash with the type in March 2019, which resulted in the worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX between March 2019 and December 2021.

Photo: Skycolors | Shutterstock
 

Speaking at the announcement, Mesfin Tasef, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, said that the order was part of the airline’s long-term strategy, which includes the addition of brand-new narrowbody and widebody aircraft. The 737 MAX and 787-9 will “enable us to expand our network, enhance our growth, our operation, and our profitability.” Addressing the 737 MAX, Tasef said that he has full confidence in the aircraft, adding that Ethiopian Airlines believes that Boeing addressed every flaw of the type since aviation authorities ungrounded the 737 MAX.

Read more: Ethiopian Airlines Signs For 67 More Boeing Aircraft Including 737 MAX & 787 Dreamliners

Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines ordering more 737 MAXs

Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines ordered seven more 737 MAX aircraft, adding to its current fleet of three 737 MAX 8 and five 737 MAX 9s, with one 737 MAX 9 still pending delivery. The Kazakh airline has an interesting fleet, in particular, because it operates three different families of the 737: the Classic, with five 737-300 and three 737-500; the Next Generation (NG), flying one 737-700 and eight 737-800s, and the aforementioned 737 MAX aircraft.

Speaking about the order, Vladimir Denissov, the President of SCAT Airlines, said that the carrier is “the most dynamically developing carrier in Kazakstan.” Denissov added that the seven 737 MAXs will increase its capacity and help SCAT Airlines ensure its punctuality and expand its route network for its passengers.

Photo: Telsek | Shutterstock

Meanwhile, Brad McMullen, the Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Boeing, said that the carrier’s newest 737 MAX order “is a testament to SCAT’s confidence in the value, performance and reliability of the 737 MAX family.” McMullen also highlighted that Boeing is looking forward to supporting SCAT Airlines’ operations and network expansion in the future.

Other main headlines

In addition to aircraft orders, both manufacturers announced several partnerships during the event’s second day. Airbus and Mubadala Investment Company signed an agreement that will result in Emirati senior university students being granted internships at the European plane maker. 12 Emirate engineering students will be hosted at Airbus’ Toulouse, France headquarters over the next three years.

Photo: Boeing

Boeing and Zero Petroleum announced a collaboration to test and analyze the next-generation technologies to increase the supply of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). According to the manufacturer, “Boeing will jointly establish a testing program for Zero’s SAF at the University of Sheffield’s Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) and its SAF research facility.” Oman Air has also announced that it has taken delivery of its first 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF), which will “contribute to the growth of the air cargo logistics sector in Oman and beyond, will be based at our strategically located Muscat hub and will enhance our ability to connect East and West.”

Read more: 5 Aircraft We’re Most Excited To See At The Dubai Airshow