Aviation
Gulf airlines splash out over $150 billion as Boeing launches new jet
DUBAI – Gulf airlines splashed out over $150 billion on new plane deals on day one of the Dubai Airshow, underscoring a shift in power in the aviation industry and giving a boost to the formal launch of Boeing’s newest jet, as well as to Airbus’s A380 superjumbo.
Under hazy skies, sheikhs and ruling family members of Dubai and neighboring Abu Dhabi toured rows of passenger jets and arms pavilions at the new 645,000 square meter venue, built to showcase the Middle East’s largest aviation hub and take on the industry’s traditional showcase events in Britain and France.
Dubai-based Emirates led the buying spree on Sunday with an order for 150 of Boeing’s new 777 mini-jumbo, in a deal worth $76 billion at list prices. It also ordered 50 Airbus A380s, the world’s biggest passenger plane, worth $23 billion.
With demand from other Gulf carriers including Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, Boeing announced commitments for a total of 259 of the new 777 jet, previously codenamed 777X, worth about $100 billion at list prices – the largest combined order in its history and confirming earlier Reuters stories.
“The response to the 777X has been astounding,” Boeing Chairman James McNerney said at a packed news conference to officially launch the new plane, in front of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
Gulf airlines are competing with each other for a share of traffic flooding through the region due to its growing prosperity and strategic location between East and West. And with many recession-hit European airlines strapped for cash, Gulf business is increasingly important to Boeing and Airbus.
The revamped 777 marks a new front in the battle between the two aircraft manufacturers that dominate the civil aviation industry. Boeing’s new plane is aimed at heading off competition from the largest version of Airbus’s A350 in the mini-jumbo market that drives growth and connectivity between continents.
Boeing pledged not to let a dispute with Seattle assembly workers over where the new 777 should be built interfere with its launch, which kicked off the November 17-21 Dubai show.
The U.S. group is looking for a home for the new jet after members of the International Association of Machinists rejected a proposed contract that would have seen Boeing commit to keeping the latest member of the 777 series near Seattle in exchange for restructured benefits.
BOOST FOR THE A380
With Boeing also agreeing deals for 30 of its 787 Dreamliners with Etihad and for over 100 of its 737 planes with budget carrier flydubai, the U.S. manufacturer looked on course to defeat Airbus in the battle for orders at the Dubai show.
However, as well as the order from Emirates, Airbus announced a deal for 87 aircraft with Etihad which, including options for 30 more, could be worth $26.9 billion.
The European group also has a record of springing surprises, and is keen to prevent a smooth lift-off for the new 777.
“Airbus is desperate to blunt the impact of the 777X,” said a senior industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Emirates’ A380 order was something of a coup for Airbus, which is under pressure to revive the fortunes of a plane that previously hadn’t found any buyers this year and faces a cut in output unless empty 2015 production slots can be filled.
Emirates is already the biggest customer of the A380 and its order for 50 more was at the top end of expectations, and brings its total orders for the plane to 140.
In a sign of the Gulf’s increasing power in the industry, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said he was confident of a shift in stance in the West that would allow the group to fly more of its planes to airports there.
“We are buying a product from their countries. So why would they not allow us to fly to these airports? If they don’t, they can take their planes back,” he said.
A group representing U.S. airline pilots, meanwhile, warned that the sale of hundreds of planes to Gulf carriers that compete with U.S. carriers would have “serious consequences for the U.S. economy and U.S. airline workers.”
MINI-JUMBO BATTLE
Boeing’s new 777 comes in two models including what will be the world’s longest-distance passenger jet, a 350-seat model to be known as the 777-8 once the aircraft has been launched.
The larger 777-9 edition, carrying 406 people, will be the main version and be delivered starting 2020.
Together, the modernized planes call for development of carbon-fiber wings that fold at the tips to fit in the same parking spaces and new engines from General Electric.
Airbus says Boeing has packed in passengers densely to make the revamped aircraft’s economics work against its own all-new 350-seat model, the A350-1000, due to enter service in 2017.
It has launched a campaign for a minimum standard seat width of 18 inches on long trips, aiming to draw attention to what it says will be the 777’s narrower seats.
Some airlines have told Airbus that this is their decision and Boeing says many Airbus jets have similar seats.
Highlighting defense deals also at stake at the November 17-21 air show, UK Prime Minister David Cameron toured the complex even before the event had started, telling the heads of British aerospace and defense companies to “get out there and win”.
Britain is competing with France for a potential 60-plane fighter jet deal with the United Arab Emirates.
– REUTERS
An Air Peace flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt has suffered a disruption, after the aircraft was affected by a bird strike on arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The airline made the disclosure on Thursday in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Osifo-Whiskey Efe.
He added that the incident necessitated safety checks on the affected aircraft and the deployment of another aircraft to convey passengers on subsequent flights.
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“We deeply empathise with passengers affected by this unforeseen incident and are working diligently to minimise disruptions,” Efe said.
The latest incident adds to the growing challenge of bird strikes faced by local airlines.
In December 2025, Air Peace disclosed that it recorded 49 bird strikes across Nigeria between January and September, stressing that even a single strike could ground an aircraft for weeks.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Allen Onyema, had said on Arise TV that bird strikes constituted a major operational challenge, often leading to costly repairs and serious disruptions to flight schedules.
“One bird strike could cripple your aircraft for the next month. At that moment, there is no two ways about it. These bird strikes often lead to costly delays and serious disruptions in flight schedules,” he said.
He added that losses from such incidents compound other challenges facing Nigerian airlines, including heavy taxation and operational constraints.
With the firm belief that it is both sadistic and absolutely despicable, the recently announced outrageous hike in airfares to South East from Abuja to Lagos for Yuletide of 2025 by over 131 percent by Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines, the owners have been asked to immediately have a rethink and review backward these harsh, toxic and unfriendly airfares targeting Igbo passengers exclusively.
Making the charge to the chairmen of Air Peace and United Nigeria airlines, Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr. Obiora Okonkwo, the prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) expressed anger that these businesses whose proprietors are Igbo by birth are fond of making it so difficult for hundreds of thousands of Igbo passengers residing outside of the South-East to travel home on Christmas festivities.
The rights group say that for many years now, because Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are monopolies and then Igbos have the tradition exclusively in Nigeria of going home to South East from all over the globe during Yuletides, these few airlines have decidedly fixed toxic ticketing airfares for Igbos whereas northerners who also travel during their religious festivities of salah are not subjected to such exploitative treatments.
The HURIWA accused the two airlines of price fixing, which is anti-competition just as the Rights group said it is giving these two Igbo-hating airlines to review backward their toxic and discriminatory airfares within ten working days from today or it will petition the federal government publicly funding consumer rights body[Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission) in Abuja.
The HURIWA wonders if these Igbo owners of private airlines known for making their planes available to government for free during emergencies are in a conspiratorial plots with haters of Igbo land who are unhappy at the convivial and happy atmospheres in the South East during Yuletide, just as the rights group has appealed to Igbo governors to immediately intervene and urge Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr Obiora Okonkwo to treat the Igbo just as they treat for instance northern Muslims who also migrate home to northern Nigeria from around the globe during their Muslim festivities because what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.
The HURIWA said that if Air Peace Airlines have gotten involved in many humanitarian efforts of airlifting Nigerians from outside of our shores for free, it becomes of the Airline ought not to maltreat their clients of Igbo extraction.
The HURIWA quoted from the business official website of Air Peace in which it described its latest humanitarian effort to be an addition to a growing list of interventions by Dr. Allen Onyema and Air Peace.
Quoting Air Peace website, HURIWA stated that Air Peace said thus: “In 2019, the airline airlifted 503 Nigerians free of charge from South Africa amidst xenophobic attacks. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Air Peace conducted multiple repatriation flights. In 2022, the airline flew Nigerian evacuees out of war-torn Ukraine. In May 2023, Dr. Onyema again deployed Air Peace aircraft to evacuate 277 stranded Nigerians from Sudan.
As the rescued women prepare to begin a new chapter, supported by medical care and reintegration efforts, one truth stands out: Air Peace is more than just an airline — it is a bridge of hope for Nigerians in crisis, and a national symbol of empathy, courage and service,” HURIWA conclusively quoted Air Peace.
The HURIWA therefore strongly condemns the two airlines for hiking and fixing unaffordable airfares indiscriminately against Igbo passengers, even as the festive season draws near, Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines have raised their return ticket fares to N677,000, a move that could add financial strain on travellers. The rise in airfares reflects the high demand expected during the holiday rush.
Key Points
Air Peace and United Nigeria increase return ticket fares to N677,000 for the yuletide season.
Airfares on routes to the South-East, including Enugu and Anambra, experience the highest surge.
Ibom Air offers comparatively cheaper tickets, with return fares at N381,600.
Air Peace’s one-way fare for December to January peaks at N350,500.
United Nigeria will also charge N350,500 for select routes between December 11 and the end of the year.
Northern routes, including Lagos-Kano, face smaller increases, with fares starting from N106,900.
Experts predict even higher airfares, with one-way tickets possibly reaching N500,000.
The rise in flight prices signals the start of a challenging holiday travel season, with airfares higher than usual due to increased demand. Travelers must be prepared for the surge, with some routes seeing even higher fare projections.
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The HURIWA is hereby warning the two airlines to withdraw their price fixing malpractices against Igbos or else the Rights group would seek justice and redress for the millions of Igbos who would return home for the 2025 Yuletide from the Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria. The HURIWA threatened to drag the two airlines to the Nigerian President through the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Transportation.
An Abuja-Accra flight experienced technical difficulties mid-air on Friday, forcing it to return to Abuja, shortly after departure.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Board (NSIB) made the disclosure in a statement, adding that it has launched investigation into what it described as a serious accident.
Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji stated that preliminary investigations revealed the aircraft experienced an engine number two indication issue.
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It was gathered that the aircraft, with registration number 5NKAL which was operating a flight from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja (DNAA), to Kotoka International Airport, Accra (DGAA).
She explained that four persons were onboard when the incident occurred. The crew immediately requested for a diversion back to Abuja due to the engine indication.
Oladeji added that the crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Abuja Airport at 18:16 UTC.
There were no injuries reported, and all individuals on board are safe.
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