On the third day of the Dubai Airshow 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the conclusion of 6 deals worth Dhs4,257,401,000.00 with local and international companies.

This brings the total deals concluded during the first three days to 16 deals, with a total value of Dhs20, 781,446,000.00. The deals of the first day amounted to Dhs5,239,207,000.00, and the deals of the second day amounted to Dhs11,284,837,000.00 This was announced in the presence of Major General Staff Pilot Ishaq Saleh Al Balushi, Executive Director of the Military Organising Committee of the Dubai Airshow 2021 and Lt. Col. Pilot Sarah Hamad Al-Hajari, official spokesman for the Dubai International Airshow 2021.

The first deal was contracted with the American company, LOCKHEED MARTIN GLOBAL INC, to provide technical support services and spare parts for the air force and air defense command systems, at a value of Dhs624,410,000.00. The second deal was contracted with GLOBAL AEROSPACE LOGISTICS LLC to provide maintenance services for the joint air command at a value of 3,436,145,600.00.

A third deal was also concluded with the French company THALES to provide technical support and repair services for the communication system worth 28,210,000.00, while a fourth deal was concluded also with the French company THALES to provide maintenance services and technical support for the air force and air defense systems at a value of 42,834,000.00.

The fifth deal was signed with the Italian company AGUSTA WESTLAND AVIATION SERVICES to provide technical support services for VIP aircraft, with a value of 90,000,000.00, while the sixth and final deal was signed with the Swiss company RHEINMETALL AIR DEFENCE AG to provide technical support, repair and maintenance services to the Air Force and Air Defence Command, at a value of 35,802,000.00.

Al Balushi began the press conference for announcing the deals concluded between the Ministry of Defence and defence companies specialised in the field of aviation, by welcoming all media representatives and all attendees.

He pointed out that the exhibition in this year’s edition plays a pivotal role in achieving commonalities in the aviation, aerospace and defense sectors at the global level, as it is a platform that has brought together leaders and experts from around the world for new partnerships, and paves the way for the sector’s recovery and future growth.

Lt-Colonel Pilot Sarah Al-Hajari pointed out that the deals concluded in the 2019 edition of Dubai Airshow were worth a total value of Dhs18 billion, while those of the 2021 edition exceeded twenty billion dirhams on its third day only. It is expected that a variety of local and international deals will be concluded during the remaining days of the airshow.

Emirates to return to profit: Emirates expects to return to profitability “in the next 18 months” as the sector bounces back from the Covid pandemic, its president Tim Clark said.

“The profitability of emirates is a well-known fact... We’ll restore that in the next 18 months, we’re already on path to do that,” Clark told reporters at the Dubai Air Show.

“We were burning through $250 million a month. We stopped that. We’re now a growing business again.

“In the last four weeks, we’ve been profitable, even with 80 A380s on the ground.”

Retrofit programme: Emirates announced at the Dubai Airshow 2021 that it will retrofit 105 of its modern wide-body aircraft with its Premium Economy product, in addition to other cabin enhancements.

The 18-month retrofit programme, scheduled to begin at the end of 2022, will be entirely conducted at Emirates’ state-of-the-art Engineering Centre in Dubai. It will see 52 Emirates A380s and 53 Boeing 777s fitted with a new cabin class - the airline’s highly lauded Premium Economy.

The airline is also considering installing a brand new Business Class product on its Boeing 777 aircraft, with customised seats in a 1-2-1 layout.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, said, “Emirates is investing in this retrofit programme to ensure that we continue to serve our customers’ needs, and provide the best experiences in the sky. Since we introduced our Premium Economy seats a year back, we’ve received a hugely positive response. Customers have been amazed by the quality and comfort. As Emirates has done with our signature First, Business and full-service Economy travel experiences, we intend to further develop our Premium Economy into a distinctive Emirates experience that is unmatched in the industry. We are also considering a brand new Business Class product. More details will be revealed in due course.” Sir Tim added, “It is also a source of pride that the entire retrofit project will be conducted at our home base in Dubai. It demonstrates the strong aviation capabilities that has been built up within Emirates airline and the broader UAE ecosystem to support such a highly specialised and technical programme.”

WAM