Aircraft manufacturers are descending on Asian Aerospace in Singapore with an eye toward lucrative deals in an industry rising from the ashes like a phoenix.
The biennial trade show that begins Tuesday and runs through Feb. 29 includes 758 exhibitors from 33 countries who are counting on the improved world economy and having the SARS havoc behind them for coveted signatures on dotted lines.
PHOTO: AFP
Show organizer Asian Aerospace Ptd Ltd is confident of topping the US$3.2 billion in deals announced at the 2002 event held only five months after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
"The airline industry has bounced back" from the clobbering inflicted last year by the severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS], said Asian Aerospace president Ed Ng.
"The fact that Asia has strong economic growth does point to more air travel", he noted. "With the upward trend of the aviation industry, more deals could be done."
The flight lines at Asia's premier aerospace event feature 50 different aircraft including the industry's latest offerings in commercial jets and the meanest fighters.
Boeing is fielding "a broad and significant presence," said the US-based giant, which will be highlighting the 7E7 Dreamliner.
The mid-sized, two-engine plane and its stretch version are due to fly in 2008. It is Boeing's first all-new airliner in more than a decade.
Seating between 200 and 250 passengers and having a range of up to 8,300 nautical miles, the 7E7 is Boeing's answer to the superjumbo being built by its arch-competitor, the European consortium Airbus.
With Airbus convinced bigger is better, its 500-seater with 49 per cent more floor space and 35 per cent more seats than a Boeing 747 is expected to go into service in 2007.
Although Asia is the fastest-growing market for the rival manufacturers, analysts said the new planes represent gambles for both, particularly Boeing which was replaced by Airbus last year as the world's biggest seller of commercial aircraft.
Boeing insists airlines are not going for large aircraft, but opting for increasing frequency to give travellers additional flying options.
Ng cited the "new segment of travel" from the surge in Asia's budget carriers.
Ten carriers operate low-cost airlines in the region, and more are planning to do so.
Among the airlines that have recently announced plans to start budget carriers are Thai Airways International, Orient Thai and Tiger Airlines, owned by Singapore Airlines and Temasek, the government's investment arm.
Most are buying or leasing used planes, but Airbus and Boeing are anticipating that will change.
"There is no question there are phenomenal opportunities to grow low cost, low price air travel in Asia," Christian Scherer, deputy head of Airbus' commercial and customer affairs, told a recent symposium.
As the region's economies grow there will be even more regional travel, he said, citing announcements by Australia's Jetstar, Singapore startup Valuair and Bangkok Airways that each will be using A320s.
Deals aside, Asian Aerospace includes five aviation and defense-related conferences. Among the issues to be tackled are aviation security, prospects for the air freight industry and the future of unmanned aerial vehicles.
To keep the sprawling event site safe, hundreds of security personnel from the police and military will be out in force in addition to an array of private security officers.
All vehicles entering the area will be searched and the undersides scanned.
"Metal detectors, X-ray machines and sniffer dogs trained to detect explosives, like ammonium nitrate and TNT, will also be used," said Deputy Superintendent Jarrod Pereira.
Visitors have been advised passing through all the checks could be a lengthy procedure.
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