Gulf carriers on buying spree to keep up with demand

DUBAI : Airlines from the oil-rich Gulf countries are tipped to steal the limelight at the Dubai atmosphere Show, seeing that the fast growing carriers strive to keep pace through the robust air travel market.

The last sky show in the booming emirate during 2005 netted staggering orders of around $23 billion, by way of Dubai's carrier Emirates placing a $9.7 billion order for 42 units from Boeing's 777 family.

Emirates, like other high-speed -growing sound carriers, vies to keep speed with the brawny regional growth inside passenger demand, which slap 17.8 per cent in the first half of 2007 - the highest globally, according to the International Air carry Association (IATA).

The Dubai flagship carrier is again keeping US manufacturer Boeing and its European arch-rival Airbus resting on their toes - this time inside anticipation of a mega-sort out for 100 new-fangled mid-sized planes. The largest Middle East airline, which carried 17.5 million passengers within the 2006-07 financial year, is still weighing its options between Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and its rival, Airbus's A350 XWB.

"At the moment, the idea is to have a on its be the owner of tidy , but that does not mean that in opportunity we won't look at both of them," Emirates president Tim Clark said last month.

He said the carrier hoped to announce its choice - in a contract estimated to be worth a whopping 20 billion dollars -- during the five-day show which opens on Sunday.

Emirates - wholly owned by the government of Dubai - has a fleet of 110 aircraft plus is currently taking rescue of its Boeing 777 sort out at the rate of one plane a month.

It is as well expecting to inaugurate taking release in August 2008 of Airbus's superjumbo A380, of which it has ordered 55 units - the largest classify by a single customer.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Qatar Airways is planning to nearly double its youthful fleet to 110 planes by 2015. It currently has 58 Airbus planes, but has ordered 22 units of the Boeing 777, the first of which should be delivered this month.

Qatar 's nationwide carrier has too placed a $16 billion order for 80 A350s, and increased its previous order of two A380s to five units during the Paris Air Show within June.

The Sharjah-based Air Arabia, the center East largest small -cost carrier, could be alive in the marketplace for seeing that many because 50 planes from what's more Airbus A320 or Boeing 737.

Air Arabia, which floated a 55 percent-stake to the free in April, raising 700 million dollars in the first contribute to garage sale by means of a Middle East carrier, reportedly plans to get between 34 and 50 aircraft during November.

The three-year-old carrier currently operates a fleet of nine leased A320s in addition to has carried 1.95 million passengers in the primary nine months of 2007, compared to 1.26 million passengers within the parallel period of 2006.

The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which celebrated its fourth anniversary this week, is on track to boost its immature fleet to 42 planes by 2011, compared to the in attendance 32 planes.

However, the government-owned carrier is not planning to place any novel orders all through the Dubai space Show, according to its chief decision-making official , James Hogan.

He told media that Etihad was satisfied by means of its current orders, the previous of which was announced at the Paris Air Show used for 12 Airbus planes valued at $2.2 billion. Plans by loss-making Kuwait Airways to replace its ageing fleet by means of up to 34 new aircraft have been put on seize after parliament along with the government agreed to dispute transforming the carrier into a open shareholding company.

But Kuwait's Aviation Lease and funding Co (ALAFCO) said it has signed a letter of intent to buy seven Airbus A320-200 aircraft for a catalogue price of $420 million. The planes are to be leased to Pakistan International Airlines.