It promises to be even bigger than when it last rolled into town amid a much more buoyant economy two years ago.

The show is much more than a trade fair, said Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

“The Dubai International Airshow is viewed as an international forum for senior Arab and foreign politicians, officers, businessmen, investors, media men as well as sightseers. This makes it a perfect economic, commercial, cultural and tourist event that should be properly used to shed the light on our centuries-old culture and genuine values,” Shaikh Hamdan said in a statement that the official Wam news agency reported on Friday.

For five days, the Dubai Airport Expo will showcase the latest innovations in aviation from airlines, aircraft-makers and defence contractors from almost 50 countries. Fighter jets and stunt planes will screech and corkscrew through the skies as industry executives huddle with clients and suppliers in posh hospitality chalets, eager to strike deals and, possibly, announce new orders.

The show’s organiszers say they’ve signed up nearly 900 exhibitors, 10 per cent more than in 2007. Exhibitors also have an additional 7,000 square meteres of space to display their high-tech 
hardware.

Participants expect business to be more subdued this time around, due largely to the recession. But with airlines and air forces in the Middle East still expanding, in spite of the global economic slowdown, the mood on the eve of the exhibition is upbeat and hopeful.

The show is much more than a trade fair, said Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

“The Dubai International Air Show is viewed as an international forum for senior Arab and foreign politicians, officers, businessmen, investors, media men as well as sightseers. This makes it a perfect economic, commercial, cultural and tourist event that should be properly used to shed the light on our centuries-old culture and genuine values,” Shaikh Hamdan said in a statementspeech that the official Wam news agency reported on Friday.

Alison Weller, aerospace director for F&E Aerospace, the event’s organiszer, forecasts that as many as 50,000 people will visit the show. The crowds will find plenty there to ogle.

The US-based Boeing Company plans to exhibit a range of aircraft and equipment, from one of its newest 777-200LR long-range jetliners to an AH-6i attack helicopter, which this week will be making its international air show debut.

Boeing’s European rival Airbus will show off smaller corporate jets as well as mock-ups of some of its bigger planes. Business jets are a hot-seller in this region, which accounts for half of all corporate aircraft sold worldwide, Airbus Vice- President Francois Chazelle said on Thursday.

Abu Dhabi’s Al Jaber Aviation is the single biggest buyer of Airbus corporate planes in the Middle East. Its Dubai-based competitor Empire Aviation, however, aims to become the largest corporate fleet operator in the region.

Empire expects to announce a new luxury travel division at the air show.

bruce@khaleejtimes.com