PARIS, Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) - Aircraft manufacturing giants Boeing and Airbus are set to go head-to-head in a bruising battle to win new business at the upcoming Dubai Air Show, setting their sights on the booming Gulf airline sector.
Dubai-based Emirates airlines could announce plans during the five-day exposition, which opens Sunday, to buy 100 long-haul carriers, choosing between Boeing's 747 Dreamliner and the A350 XWB, made by the US group's European rival Airbus.
Emirates is already Airbus' leading client for the A380 superjumbo, the world's largest civilian airliner. Emirates has ordered 55 A380s.
The A380, which can carry between 525 and 853 passengers, is seen as a promising acquisition for Emirates, which aims to make the Gulf state of Dubai a huge aviation "hub," connecting fliers with all four corners of the world.
Two other Gulf carriers, Qatar Airways and the smaller Etihad Airways based in Abu Dhabi, have adopted the same objectives.
Emirates and Qatar Airways are therefore considered crucial to the future of Airbus, which has lately lost ground to Boeing.
Boeing through the end of September had booked 893 orders to 854 for Airbus, according to the latest available figures.
Morgan Stanley analysts in a recent note said Boeing's activities were often seen as an extension of US foreign policy, viewed in the Gulf as pro-Israeli, an attitude that complicate matters for the US manufacturer in its approach to certain clients.
By contrast, according to German author Gerald Braunberger in a book on the Airbus-Boeing rivalry, Airbus is frequently seen abroad as a French company and can take advantage of France's more balanced Middle East policies.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast that the fastest growth in air traffic between now and 2011 should occur in the Middle East, averaging 6.8 percent a year against 5.1 percent for the rest of the world.
Starting from near zero 10 years ago, Gulf airlines have grown spectacularly, as regional governments focus on tourism as a key source of revenue in a post-oil era.
Indian and Chinese companies, also operating in growing markets, could in addition place big orders in Dubai, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Penelope Butcher, as well as Latin American carriers anxious to expand their fleets.
But US companies, she said, were not likely to be big players in Dubai, preferring to make their move at the Farnborough International Air Show in Britain next year.
An estimated 900 companies from 50 countries are expected to showcase their products in Dubai next week.
clp/nh/mb
Dubai-aviation-show
