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Largest Middle East aviation event takes place November

17-21

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Main focus on Airbus after Boeing ( BA ) won deals during Trump

tour

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Airbus could weaken Boeing ( BA ) grip on flydubai fleet, sources

say

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Dubai debut for Chinese C919 jetliner and Russian Su-57E

fighter

By Tim Hepher, Ahmed Elimam and Federico Maccioni

DUBAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Aircraft delays, China's

ambitions to dethrone Airbus and Boeing ( BA ), and

geopolitical tensions will vie for attention with new jet orders

at next week's Dubai Airshow.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tour of the Gulf in May, which

included tens of billions of dollars of orders for Boeing ( BA ), stole

some of the thunder of the Middle East's largest aviation event

and anticipated some announcements typically showcased in Dubai.

Now it is the turn of Airbus, lagging Boeing ( BA ) in this year's

order race, to try to close the gap with a series of show

announcements, though Boeing ( BA ) will also unveil some further

deals, delegates said ahead of the November 17-21 event.

AIRBUS LEADS CHARGE FOR ORDERS

Airbus could weaken Boeing's ( BA ) grip at flydubai as the budget

carrier weighs its first European order as part of a potential

split deal between Airbus and Boeing ( BA ), industry sources said.

Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) declined to comment and flydubai was not

immediately available.

Stuart Hatcher, chief economist at aviation consultancy IBA,

predicted a "reasonable" haul of around 300 orders at the show -

about half the level seen in peak years - including a deal for

Airbus A350-1000s from flydubai's sister airline Emirates.

Bloomberg reported that Airbus was in talks over at least 30

of the long-haul jets after Emirates delayed placing an order in

a stand-off over engine performance at the previous 2023 show.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad is expected to order over a dozen Airbus

wide-body jets.

But preparations for the show have been overshadowed by new

delays for Boeing's ( BA ) 777X, in stark contrast to the fanfare of

$100 billion of Gulf orders for the jet in Dubai 12 years ago.

Emirates is the main customer for the 400-seat long-haul

jet, whose development is now seven years late. Airbus continues

to face delivery delays on smaller models.

"Demand is there but the supply issues in the aviation world

are still there even though other parts of the economy are doing

better," said Marjan Riggi, founder of Stage Wing Advisory.

The show takes place in the 40th anniversary year of host

carrier Emirates, which led the drive to make the Gulf a vibrant

junction in the global economy by offering connecting flights

capable of reaching nearly all the world's population.

Some question whether the meteoric ascent of a handful of

carriers is at risk from Turkey, India and now Saudi Arabia.

"Everyone is going after exactly the same flavour of

traffic," said AeroDynamic Advisory analyst Richard Aboulafia.

So far, demand has held up better than sceptics feared.

"When Emirates was created everyone said Gulf Air would

collapse, then Qatar Airways would limit Emirates' growth, then

the same with Etihad and so on. The opposite happened," said

former Airbus Middle East director Habib Fekih, author of a

recent book on the jet age, "Fly High, Fly Low".

A resurgent Air India, which has placed near-record orders,

could poach some Gulf traffic but this will take time, he added.

Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) are also seeing their decades-old

dominance questioned as the C919 from China's COMAC makes its

debut at a show outside Asia.

The competitor to the industry's best-selling Boeing 737 and

Airbus A320neo seeks sales in the Middle East and Africa as

China forges closer links to the Gulf. But analysts warn it

could take years to win Western certification.

FIGHTER INTEREST

The biennial show is also a stage for the arms industry,

though relatively few deals get announced at the event itself.

After Trump's visit highlighted deepening defence ties with

the Gulf, analysts are watching for any inflection in agreements

whereby Israel retains a regional edge in capability as Gulf

nations press for access to top-line U.S. fighters.

Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) may see more regional interest after

progress on Saudi Arabia's long-rumoured desire for the F-35,

analysts said. Reuters reported this month that an export case

for 48 of the stealthy jets is moving through the Pentagon.

In the past, the UAE and Qatar have requested the F-35

without deals materialising.

"There has been chatter about the Saudis being allowed to

buy the F-35 - if that happens, does the door open for the UAE

and others in the region?" said Byron Callan of Capital Alpha

Partners.

Russia will also be courting arms buyers with a Dubai debut

for its Su-57E stealth fighter.

The UAE has become a central interest for U.S. defence

startups looking to expand. Anduril this week announced a

partnership with Abu Dhabi's EDGE to develop and make drones.

(Additional reporting by Mike Stone and David Jeans. Editing by

Mark Potter)