The double-decker superjumbo Airbus A380 is expected to be a major star as it debuts at Asia's premier air show this week, spearheading the European firm's drive for dominance over US arch rival Boeing.
The world's biggest passenger airliner, decked out in the blue and gold colors of Singapore Airlines (SIA), landed at Changi Airport on Saturday after a long flight from Toulouse, France, for the Asian Aerospace event.
SIA, one of the world's most profitable carriers, is to receive its first orders of the airliner last November. It will be the first carrier to fly the winged giant.
PHOTO: EPA
While the A380 can carry 555 passengers in three classes, SIA has opted for a 480-seat configuration for more space.
Multinational
More than 900 exhibitors from 43 countries will display their civilian and military planes and related equipment during the six-day event starting tomorrow, organizer Reed Exhibitions said.
It is the third biggest air show in the world with only Paris and Farnborough ahead of it.
Attendance is expected to top the 75,000 trade visitors and curious members of the public who visited the last event in 2004, it said.
This is the last edition of the Singapore show, which has been held every two years since 1984, and produced total announced deals worth US$3.4 billion at the 2004 event, UK-based Reed said.
Asian Aerospace will move to Hong Kong from 2008.
With a travel boom driving big-ticket aircraft orders from Asia-Pacific airlines, attention is expected to focus on the dogfight between Airbus and Boeing over the region's skies.
At the head of Airbus' charge will be the A380, which will conduct a daily flying display from tomorrow to Sunday.
The renowned US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which had 55 percent of the global long-range order market last year, will show off its new fuel-efficient flagship Dreamliner 787 airliner and the 777-200LR jet, the world's longest-range twin-engine aircraft.
"The Singapore show continues to be the region's magnet for bringing the global aerospace community together in one place," Boeing spokesman Raymond Francis said.
It is "an ideal platform for us to underscore our leadership in both commercial and military aviation, and provides us with a great opportunity to talk about the company's direction with our customers and partners in Asia," he added.
Boeing says it recorded 1,008 firm orders for commercial jets last year, 41 percent of which were from clients in Asia.
Fresh from winning a contract to sell 12 F-15 Eagle fighter jets to the Singapore armed forces, Boeing is bringing in the strike aircraft to rattle the skies with demonstration flights.
But Airbus, which is 80 percent owned by the European Aerospace, Defense and Space (EADS) company and 20 percent by BAE Systems of Britain, is determined not to be left in Boeing's vapor trails.
"Airbus comes to Asian Aerospace 2006 with a positive outlook after achieving record orders, deliveries and profitability in 2005," it said in a statement.
Asian orders
Aircraft orders from Asia and the Pacific last year accounted for more than 45 percent of the global total, with more than 500 firm Airbus orders, it said.
Airbus said it booked record firm orders of 1,055 passenger planes globally last year, taking 51 percent of the world market, but admits it was behind Boeing in wide-body, long-range order intake.
While giants Boeing and Airbus seek to further consolidate their hold on the region, other aircraft makers -- among them are Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier -- will be trying to expand the niche for their smaller regional jets.
Asian Aerospace will also be highlighting flying demonstrations by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and a greatly expanded display of unmanned technologies.
After being used in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the UAVs are set for a bigger presence in Asia, where they can potentially be used for maritime surveillance and in the fight against terrorism, conference organizers said.
Spurred by purchases from both India and China, Asia has overtaken the Middle East as the largest arms market in the developing world.
In a further acknowledgement of the region's military modernization, Asian Aerospace is for the first time featuring simulation and training products for defense as well as commercial-carrier use.
Lockheed Martin, currently vying for a jet fighter deal with India, will tear up the skies with an aerial display of its F-16 Fighting Falcon.
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