The FINN Wrap: MRO Middle East and AIME 2019
The FINN team travelled to Dubai to these co-located shows for the latest in MRO and aircraft interiors.
MRO Middle East and Aircraft Interiors Middle East were seamlessly co-located for an…
The FINN team travelled to Dubai to these co-located shows for the latest in MRO and aircraft interiors.
MRO Middle East and Aircraft Interiors Middle East were seamlessly co-located for an event in Dubai. It attracted the airlines and business aviation operators looking to discover the latest new ideas for products and services in these sectors.
The Middle East region has seen a booming airline business thanks to the major Gulf carriers, and research from Boeing forecasts that the Middle East aviation services market could hit $745 Billion over the next 18 years.
Of course, this means greater competition from the OEMs who are investing more in the after-market but VD Gulf’s commercial director Ayrat Gilmutdinov made the case for the independent providers (see video).
Deals
Deals were being done. Satair was busy with new contracts from Honeywell, Joramco and Etihad Engineering.
Meanwhile, Estonia’s Magnetic MRO signed partnership agreements with local Arab companies, firstly to establish an EASA MRO facility in Saudi Arabia and then to launch an engine stands hub close to Al Maktoum Aiport in Dubai South.
The former Aviation District of Dubai South has been re-launched as the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub and is seeing growing demand
On the interiors side of the hall, British manufacturer Beadlight, which designed the first ever LED lights for an airliner, was switched on to the potential for lighting up the space for passengers.
We also looked at a new seat from Boxmark which is targeted at “business class plus” passengers.
It’s all about style
Ireland’s Botany Weaving, which delivers carpets and fabrics for many of the major airlines, say they get their best ideas from visiting fashion shows and looking for the latest trends in colours and styles.
They needn’t have gone further than across the aisle to Creation & Image, the Paris designers with in-house stylists showing the latest in crew uniforms.
The recently rebranded Burrana – formed when digEcor officially acquired the commercial in-flight entertainment (IFE) business from Collins Aerospace – used AIME to re-launch itself to the industry. The acquisition brings together the former Rockwell Collins’ PAVES family of seat-back and overhead solutions, as well as the on-demand entertainment systems.
Tech
Of course, technology was very much at the fore. Lufthansa Technik, well known for its passion for innovation, managed to reduce its staff numbers thanks to artificial intelligence. It made use of Mr Robot to answer delegates’ questions about the German company’s products – and other things.
Mr Robot, where should our viewers go to get more news and analysis on the aerospace industry?
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