Press Release

MIDDLE EAST SHOWS CELEBRATE RETURN TO BUSINESS IN THE REGION

First to sign up for both MEBA 2010 and Dubai Airshow 2011 will receive a free magnum of bubbly!

release date: 19th July 2010

Dubai, UAE. 19 July 2010 - Dubai Airshow organiser F&E Aerospace is offering a bottle of champagne at Farnborough to exhibitors who book space at the next Middle East Business Aviation show (MEBA) in December or the Dubai Airshow in 2011, with the first exhibitor signing up for both receiving a magnum.

F&E Aerospace is taking bookings at its Farnborough stand, No.A4 in Hall 4.

MEBA is taking place at Dubai's Airport Expo from 7 to 9 December 2010, and the Dubai Airshow is running from 13 to 17 November 2011.

Alison Weller, Managing Director of F&E Aerospace, expressed her confidence in a resurgent aerospace industry across the Middle East, both in defence and civil aviation. "We are here at Farnborough to let exhibitors know that the region is showing very positive signs of a return to business and we want to celebrate the fact by offering exhibitors a bottle of bubbly if they book for either the Middle East Business Aviation show or the Dubai Airshow. If they book for both, they'll get a magnum!"

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently predicted that, in 2010, Middle East airlines will post profits of $100 million-their first since 2005.

Growth is also forecast within the region's defence industry, with the six states that make up the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) accounting for roughly 60 per cent of all defence expenditure made, according to a Middle East military market analysis by US-based Forecast International (FI).

In 2010, these countries are projected to invest over $63 billion toward their armed forces and security, with two-thirds of that total contributed by Saudi Arabia alone.

Combined GCC defence spending is expected to rise in 2011 by an additional 2.5 per cent. Over the next five years, the greater Middle East defence market is projected to grow by over 11 per cent, reaching nearly $120 billion by 2014. The Dubai Airshow has grown exponentially since its inception in 1989; the latest running of the biennial event in 2009 achieved an 18 per cent increase in attendance, with 890 companies from 47 countries exhibiting to nearly 53,000 trade visitors from 138 countries. The 12th edition of the Dubai Airshow in 2011 will continue that growth with 950 exhibitors expected.