Turkish Air order splash pushes Dubai show into record territory

Dubai has long lived by the adage that more is more, and this year's edition of the biennial air show stands to fulfill that principle.

Emirates, already the world's largest international airline, is poised to kick off the first day of the event with a major aircraft order to renew its widebody fleet. President Tim Clark has publicly declared that he's in the market for more than 100 planes, possibly buying from both Airbus SE and Boeing Co.

Now Turkish Airlines is muscling into the event, planning to one-up the local champion with a giant order for about 350 aircraft, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury stopped over in Istanbul ahead of the show, with a photo published in state-run media of him in a celebratory mood, shaking hands with Turkish Air Chairman Ahmet Bolat. Airbus declined to comment on any agreements with customers ahead of the event.


With Turkish and Emirates charging into Monday with potentially massive deals, the Dubai show stands to set a record last seen a decade ago, when airlines rang in more than $100 billion in commitments on a single day.

While such lofty numbers may be out of reach this time, the frenzy will nevertheless signal that the aviation industry is back from the pandemic, and that airlines wishing to participate in the surge must act fast or risk being relegated to the bottom of an increasingly long wait list for planes.