What to expect at the 2025 Dubai Airshow

This year’s Dubai Airshow is expected to feature a stronger presence from Boeing after a subdued Paris Air Show, as well as electric air taxi demonstration flights and a sales push from Chinese aircraft manufacturers.

The annual show runs from Nov. 17-21. Organizers say they anticipate at least 200 aircraft on display, with an expected 148,000 visitors and some 1,500 aerospace and defense companies in attendance. One country that won’t be represented is Israel. The organizers last month said they withdrew the registration of six Israeli companies after a “technical review,” but did not give further details.

Here’s what to expect:

Fewer aircraft orders

Such shows traditionally generate heated competition between Airbus and Boeing to secure the most deals, but Agency Partners analyst Sash Tusa said the lack of available delivery slots indicates there might not be an order bonanza this time.

“Gulf airlines don’t buy as much as they used to, and they’re fairly well ordered,” he said. “This isn’t a sector where orders, which is what air shows tend to be about, matter anymore. It’s actually all about delivery.”

Both Airbus and Boeing have massive backlogs, and Airbus is racing to meet an ambitious delivery target of around 820 aircraft for this year. With two months to go, the company still has 235 aircraft to deliver.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury will not attend the show, according to a spokesman, opting instead to focus on securing enough jet engines to meet the end-of-year goal. Sales chief Christian Scherer is to attend, his final show before he steps down at the end of the year.

Boeing is expected to have a larger presence at this event, after the company canceled all of the order announcements it planned to make during June’s Paris Air Show in response to the June 12 fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787 jet. CEO Kelly Ortberg and other executives skipped the Paris show, staying back in the U.S. to focus on the crash investigation. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope is scheduled to attend Dubai.

Some big deals were announced in advance of the show. During U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East in May, Qatar Airways signed a landmark $96 billion order for 160 Boeing jets, plus the option to take 50 more. Also during the visit, Etihad Airways ordered 28 jets — a mix of Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft — and AviLease ordered 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Emirates remains one to watch. “Boeing, Airbus, everybody else is here trying to see whether we can do deals with them in the future,” Tim Clark, the airline’s president, told The National earlier this month. However, he added, “both manufacturers are hamstrung with regards to their ability to produce aeroplanes at the pace and the time that we would want.”

eVTOLs take flight

The Dubai Airshow promises more new technology than in previous years, with 120 startups in attendance and an expanded advanced air mobility pavilion. Also on the agenda is the first air taxi demonstration at a major international air show. Previous attempts to fly eVTOLs at this year’s Paris show and the 2024 Farnborough event fell through when developers failed to secure regulatory approval, among other challenges.

Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation flew prototypes at the California International Airshow in Salinas last month, and Joby is aiming to repeat the feat in Dubai, a spokesman confirmed.

The United Arab Emirates is aiming to be an early adopter of air taxis, because the business model of ferrying passengers on short hops to avoid heavy traffic jams is attractive for heavily congested cities like Dubai. Joby plans to begin commercial service in Dubai next year, and Archer plans to fly its first paying passengers in Abu Dhabi.

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Still, there is some skepticism over the timing of those first flights, according to SMG Consulting co-founder Sergio Cecutta, who has been following the eVTOL sector for several years.

“The eVTOL world comes together with a lot of expectations in Dubai, but we do not see paying passenger services in the Emirates until the end of 2026 at best and more probably the first quarter of 2027,” he said.

Chinese airliners on display

Expect a larger presence from COMAC, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. The state-owned manufacturer is to present its C919 and C929 aircraft in the Middle East for the first time, show organizers said in a press release. COMAC is seeking a wider range of customers for its aircraft, as it looks to compete with Airbus and Boeing.

International deals so far have been largely limited to southeast Asian airlines, as COMAC works to receive certification from overseas regulators. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency is working with COMAC on certification of the C919, but approval could take another three to six years, French publication L’Usine Nouvelle reported in April.

Another hurdle is limited product support infrastructure, according to Richard Aboulafia, managing director at the Michigan-based consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, and COMAC would be smart to focus on this in Dubai.

“This is as big a barrier to market entry as developing jets themselves,” he said. “It’s fun to show up and try to sell, try to market, but if you can’t support, no one cares.”