2007 saw the UAE's aviation firms seeking out new opportunities
Initial public offerings, $33 billion (about Dh121.17 billion) airports and tales of massive 100-airplane orders are just some of the reasons why the United Arab Emirates dominated aviation news in 2007.
Airlines launched new routes and government investment agencies launched new multi-billion dollar firms this year.
Even entrepreneurs, drawn by liberalised air policies and a unique geographical position, chose the UAE as a base for new airline ventures.
Yet the number of new additions are proving that the public and private sector have continued to make determined steps towards realising the region's true potential.
For many, 2007 was a year when the family of aviation firms in the UAE grew richer, seeking out new niches and opportunities.
Newcomers Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Corp. took some major strides in developing aviation services firms, signing strategic alliances with Boeing to partner on a variety of measures.
DAE kickstarted its aircraft maintenance business with the acquisition of Standard Aero and Landmark Aviation for $1.9 billion (about Dh6.97 billion), while Mubadala said it would collaborate with Lockheed Martin in the future.
Emirates airline continued its ascendancy in the world rankings, climbing one spot higher to become the seventh largest international airline in terms of passenger traffic, according to the International Air Transport Association.
It added 10 new routes. Among them: first routes to South America and Canada with Sao Paolo and Toronto in October; and tomorrow (December 3, 2007), Houston, Texas - its second route to the US.
Emirates also remained highly profitable. It saw a 25 per cent gain in profits for the fiscal year ending in March to Dh3.1 billion.
Emirates carried 17.5 million passengers, three million more than last year. In October, Emirates acknowledged that it may consider selling part of the company in an initial public offering, valuing the company between $20 billion (about Dh73.44 billion) and $30 billion (about Dh110.16 billion).
The airline also added billions of dollars worth of planes to its order book including additional A380 superjumbos. It also put to rest months of speculation about a possible 100-plane order, with a massive purchase announced at the Dubai Airshow.
Meanwhile its cousin to the south, Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, took delivery of its new CEO, James Hogan, who quickly moved to reformulate the airline's growth strategy and set 2010 as the break-even point for the four-year-old company.
In a year when it launched nine new routes and increased its fleet with seven Airbus A340s and A330s, Etihad said it expected passenger traffic to jump 68 per cent for a total of 4.6 million passengers.
Much of this emanated from added frequencies in the Gulf and high-density routes in the UK, India and Australia.
"No commercial airline in the history of aviation has ever achieved Etihad's rate of growth in such a short period of time," Hogan said in October.
Etihad is now gearing up for its first foray into the booming Chinese market.
Air Arabia, the low-cost airline from Sharjah, celebrated its fourth anniversary and five million passengers carried. Air Arabia continued to impress and investors duly responded, with its stock rising 70 per cent since the June offering.
Its position as the new kid on the block ended as several young airlines lifted off in the northern emirates. RAK Airways began charter flights in late summer, while at press time Kang Pacific was slated to launch flights to the subcontinent from Fujairah.
UAE airports are also increasing their capacities. Abu Dhabi International Airport will add capacity by 78 per cent, while Dubai International Airport will be able to handle 75 million passengers by 2010. Sharjah, too, is nearing the completion of its phase 1 expansion to handle eight million annually.
Dubai World Central, the $33 billion, 140-square mile behemoth will accommodate 120 million passengers a year, putting it in league with Heathrow and the world's greatest airports.
Dubai World Central and Dubai International are being managed by a state-backed newly-formed corporation, the Dubai Airports Company.
But before that, UAE officials have their sights set on the coming year, when the big bird of the skies, the A380, finally joins the Emirates fleet. n
