LONDON – As the Dubai Air Show 2021 commences tomorrow, we now have an idea of what commercial aircraft will be at the air show, especially as we look out for some potential new orders.

With no surprises, Boeing and Airbus will be sending a lot of aircraft to the airshow, in order to show off their portfolio, in the hope of securing some more much-needed orders in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What commercial aircraft will be on display at DAS21?

So without further ado, here is the full list of commercial aircraft that will be attending the Dubai Air Show 2021:

• Air Arabia – A320
• Airbus:
  • ACJ 320 NEO
  • A321 NEO
  • A321-251NX (LR)
  • A350-900
  • A330-800neo
  • A220 (AirBaltic livery)
• Astral – B767
• Boeing:
  • B777-9
  • B737-9
• Embraer – ERJ 190-400
• Emirates:
  • Cirrus SR 22
  • Airbus A380-842
  • Embraer EMB-500
  • B777-300
  • A380-841
• Etihad:
  • B787-9
  • A350-1041
  • B787
• FlyDubai:
  • Boeing 737-8 (MAX)
  • B737-800
  • Another B737-800
• Gulf Air:
  • Boeing B787-9
• Irkut Corporation:
  • Sukhoi Business Jet
  • MC-21-310
• Saudia Air Lines
  • B787-10

Of course, more aircraft from the Defence and Business side of the airshow will be on show, but a lot of focus will be around mainly the airlines and the manufacturers.

Manufacturer’s Strategy Coming into Dubai

What is interesting is that Boeing is not sending their own B787s for display, but rather using the likes of Etihad, Gulf Air, and Saudia Air Lines to showcase such products.

It can be most likely argued that the Boeing 777X and 737 MAX are more on the priority list for Boeing in order to generate some more sales for one program that has had a very long crisis and another aircraft that is heavily delayed in entry-to-service.

Airbus will more than likely be aiming for some more orders on the A321LR/XLR side, as well as the A350 for widebody orders. The A220 seems to be doing well at present, although a couple of extra orders to the backlog wouldn’t hurt.

Embraer’s focus will solely be on the E2 project, as it aims to fill up more of the regional aircraft market share against the likes of ATR and others.

The one manufacturer to keep an eye on throughout this airshow will be Irkut as its MC-21-300 will be on display. Although there have been no whispers of orders during this airshow, it wouldn’t be surprising if a big MoU or LoI was placed in the run-up to the airshow-end.

Overall

It remains clear that this air show will be one to keep a close eye on potentially, especially in terms of commercial orders.

Even though we are still in a pandemic, airlines are thinking about recovery strategies, and newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft will play a part in that strategy.

It will be interesting to see who will win the order tally this time at Dubai and whether the number of orders will represent either larger or smaller numbers going into Farnborough next year.