Middle East aviation stakeholders active on expansion, generate strong global interest

Middle East air travel sector remains to flourish and generate incredible interest from suppliers worldwide, with the airline companies in the area tape-recording the greatest yearly traffic development compared with their counterparts and revealing further network and strategic fleet growth strategies.

The strong interest in Middle East is shown in the 16thedition of the Airport Show, which will take place from May 9-11 in Dubai. According to Reed Exhibitions Middle East, the event organisers, the program has actually not just been sold out weeks ahead of its opening date, however has actually also seen amazing growth in exhibit space, variety of Hosted Buyers and pre-registered participants.

More than 250 exhibitors have currently validated their participation for the Airport Show 2016, which will occupy an exhibit area of 15,000 square metres at the New Za'abeel Halls in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), with bigger participation expected by country pavilions from Germany, France, UK, Italy, Switzerland, USA and China.

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East said: "The remarkable response to the Airport Show shows the strength of the area's air travel market. The area, especially the UAE and Dubai, has a deep dedication towards the air travel sector, which contributes more than 27 percent to Dubai's GDP and represent over 21 per cent share in work. The strong efficiency of airline companies and expansion plans remain to produce a selection of opportunities worldwide.".

Carriers from the area ruled the sky last year and increased the share of global traffic on massive growth of Gulf carriers.

Middle East providers had the greatest annual traffic growth at 10.5 per cent, according to latest statistics from International Air Transport Association (IATA). As a result, the share of global traffic brought by Middle East airline companies reached 14.2 per cent, exceeding their North American equivalents.

Going further, airlines in the region will continue to present incredible chances for worldwide suppliers as they remain strong on growth.

According to Boeing, airline companies in the Middle East will require 3,180 new aircrafts over the next 20 years, valued at an estimated $730 billion. While roughly 30 percent of that need-- 960 planes-- will replace today's fleets, 70 percent of the demand is expected to be driven by the fast fleet expansion in the region.

"In order to cultivate continued economic development of the area, especially non-oil relevant, to motivate more tourism and to transport business visitors, the Middle East region is developing an impressive fleet of traveler aircraft. The share of traveler aircraft in the world run by the regions providers has actually doubled in 10 years," according to Airbus, which anticipate an annual development rate of 6 per cent in air traffic for the Middle East region over the next 20 years, which is well above the projected growth in worldwide traffic of 4.6 per cent.

Airline companies in the Middle East also continue with tactical network and fleet expansion, which will further propel growth.
Emirates Airline, which serves over 150 destinations in 80 countries, added 26 new aircraft to its fleet in 2015, consisting of 15 A380s, 10 Boeing 777-300ERs and 1 Boeing 777 Freighter, rounding off the year with 246 airplane in service.

With the addition of brand-new aircraft in 2015 and 26 more aircraft slated to retire in 2016, Emirates stated it is committed to flying a more youthful, modern-day and eco-friendly fleet that provides customers with an exceptional level of comfort and safety.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, introduced 6 extra destinations to its worldwide path network and increased frequencies on 16 existing paths across the world in 2015. To support the next stage of its global network expansion, Etihad Airways announced that it will get 10 aircraft shipments this year, consisting of 5 Boeing 787-9s, 3 A380s and 2 Boeing 777-200 Freighters.

Qatar Airways has actually announced a considerable expansion to 14 brand-new destinations, with the new paths to consist of the world's longest flight, between Doha and Auckland, New Zealand.

Enormous investments towards airport building activities in the Middle East would further add to the opportunities global suppliers can tap into. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, airport investments worth more than $32.7 billion are underway or planned in the UAE alone.

"Airport Show 2016 presents an ideal platform for worldwide players to use these opportunities," added Daniyal Qureshi.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, the Airport Show has ended up being the regional centre of procurement for the huge developments in the sector happening in the region.

This year, the three-day Airport Show expects more than 7,000 visitors.