Friday, December 12, 2003
Multi-billion dollar orders inked at Dubai air show
Press Trust of India Cairo, December 12
The world's third-largest air show took place in Dubai this week with at least 7.5 billion dollars worth of deals signed as civil and military aviation leaders competed fiercely for a slice of the region's fast-growing market.
Gas-rich Qatar stole the show on the civilian side by firming up an order with Airbus Industries for about three billion dollars in new aircraft and announcing it will soon tender construction contracts for about 2.5 billion dollars for Doha's new international airport.
"This is all part of the expansion plans of Qatar Airways, and the government of Qatar is spending a lot of money on a new state-of-the-art airport to make Doha an international hub," Akbar al-Baker, president and chief executive of Qatar Airways, told AFP.
The aircraft deal confirms memorandums of understanding announced in Paris last June and includes two A380 superjumbos with options for two more as well as two A340-600s with options for a further eight.
The planes are scheduled to be delivered in phases between June 2006 and early 2009 in time for the launch of Qatar's new 12-million passenger-capacity airport in 2008 that it sees as a rival hub to Dubai.
Not to be outdone, Dubai's flagship airline Emirates announced Monday a three-billion-dollar firm order for 199 engines to power its fleet of 45 A380s from the US General Electric-Pratt and Whitney (GE-PW) Engine Alliance.
The airline will receive its first A380 in September 2006.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2003.