By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Emirates is gearing up for the 2017 edition of the Dubai Airshow, with the airline showcasing its largest static aircraft display to date. Emirates’ full family of aircraft consisting of the airline’s 100th A380, its latest Boeing 777-300ER with new cabin interiors, the Emirates Executive A319 aircraft, and the Cirrus SR 22 and Embraer Phenom 100 jets which will be utilized by the Emirates Flight Training Academy will be on display to visitors. Both Emirates B777-300ER and A380 aircraft will be emblazoned with the “Year of Zayed” decal as a tribute to the late founding father of the UAE.
His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, said: “The Dubai Airshow is a key event in the aviation industry calendar and it is fitting that the full family of Emirates aircraft will be on display this year to highlight the breadth of onboard product enhancements and innovations across our fleet. We are particularly pleased to showcase our state-of-the-art training aircraft for the Emirates Flight Training Academy. These investments will help set new benchmarks in pilot training, and reinforce Dubai’s position as a global aviation hub.”
On the first day of the Dubai Airshow, Emirates will debut its new Boeing 777-300ER First Class suite. The new First Class product has been entirely redesigned, with a range of new features. In addition to the First Class cabin, both Business and Economy Class cabins will also boast a number of enhancements.
The first afternoon of the airshow will also feature a unique Emirates fly past comprising of a Boeing 777-300ER, an Airbus A380, as well as the UAE’s air-display team, Al Fursan. Both Emirates aircraft will fly at different altitudes followed by the Al Fursan jets in a symmetric formation. All Emirates aircraft taking part in the fly-past will also feature the special “Year of Zayed” decal on both sides of the fuselage.
The Emirates Flight Training Academy, the state of the art facility for training ab initio pilots will be officially inaugurated on the second day of the Dubai airshow. The Academy was developed by Emirates in response to the global aviation industry’s requirement for skilled commercial pilots. It is set to offer advanced learning technologies and state-of-the-art training aircraft for cadets to develop their flying knowledge and skills. The multi-million dollar investment in this advanced facility highlights Emirates’ commitment to developing the infrastructure that supports career-ready pilots for Emirates, as well as the broader aviation industry.
The Emirates exhibition stand will also be open to all airshow visitors. Spread across two storeys, the stand will feature a number of Emirates divisions including: Emirates Engineering, Emirates Flight Training Academy, Emirates SkyCargo, Emirates Aviation University, Emirates UAE Sales and Emirates Official Store. The Emirates Official store will be selling limited edition aircraft models at the stand which will feature the “Year of Zayed” decal, and will also be taking special orders for the larger version of the aircraft model.