Dubai a Vital Hub for Aircraft Sales

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner will make its first appearance in the Middle East at the Dubai Air Show this week after entering scheduled service in Japan last month, more than three years later than initially planned.

The Dreamliner will be one of about 100 aircraft from the major aerospace manufacturers on display at the show, before an anticipated 55,000 trade visitors and 1,000 exhibitors.

In a time of global financial turbulence, aircraft makers are intensely aware that customers in the oil-rich Gulf region have ready cash available to buy their latest-generation commercial and military planes, weaponry and business aircraft.

Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, chief executive of Kingdom Holding, who is due to take delivery of a personalized executive version of the Airbus A380 superjumbo next year, may be an extreme example of the potential market, but he is not unique.

With government budgets in the United States and Europe under pressure, and Middle Eastern politics ever more volatile, the Dubai show is increasingly the must-go place for aviation manufacturers to showcase their hardware.

On the military side, the show will feature the French Dassault Rafale fighter and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Both are competing for an Indian Air Force order, and the Rafale has long been rumored to be the preferred choice of the United Arab Emirates Air Force for its next upgrade. If that turns out to be true, it could be the Rafale’s first export order.

On the private jet side, the region’s potential is reflected in the rise of Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, the Gulf’s first airport dedicated exclusively to private flying.

Formerly Abu Dhabi’s commercial airport, Al Bateen has a runway 3 kilometers, or 1.9 miles, long that is capable of handling aircraft as large as the Boeing 767; a sumptuous VIP lounge that was previously the Royal Lounge; and extensive facilities in the crew lounge for overnight stops.

In the June to September quarter, aircraft movements through the airport rose 12 percent from the same period a year earlier, to 1,903, said Steve Jones, general manager of Al Bateen. The fastest growing business at the airport, up 42 percent from a year earlier, was visiting aircraft, using Al Bateen as an entry point to the United Arab Emirates, or a stopover resting place.

About 70 percent of the traffic was top-end luxury planes like the Boeing Business Jet, the executive version of the 737, used by multinational corporations or the exceptionally wealthy, Mr. Jones said.