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2022-12-01

Bahrain Airshow Turns a Roaring Success with US$1.8 billion Deals

International deals and partnerships worth over US$1.8 billion were signed when thousands of aerospace and defence professionals from 30 countries converged at the Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) 2022 for three days of partnership building, collaboration and thought leadership from November 9-11.

The event saw 186 participating companies across the display, exhibition hall and chalets, with 200 civilian and military delegations taking part.

Officially opened by Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister, on behalf of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Bahrain International Airshow was organised by the Bahrain Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications and the Royal Bahraini Airforce in association with Farnborough International.

The airshow followed on from Manama Air Power Symposium 2022, which brought together a high-calibre audience of over 300 air force commanders and operators, policymakers, and industry leaders from over 25 countries for the most important regional air power conference in 2022.

New deals and partnerships announced at the show included the purchase of 30 of the latest-generation, single-aisle aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines by Royal Jordanian Airlines (Royal Jordanian), a strategic partnership between MAE Aircraft Management and Asia Cargo Network Singapore and Texel Air Bahrain and Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) new alliance.

In addition, Gulf Air and Emirates officially signed a unilateral codeshare partnership, starting this December.

Thought Exchange Platform

Two dedicated conference theatres offered a thought exchange platform, where senior aerospace executives from the Gulf region and international companies collaborated to bring issues of mutual interest to the fore.

The programme included panels and keynotes on four key themes: Airports and Airlines, Cargo and Logistics, Women in Aerospace and Space.

Each afternoon saw the skies above Sakhir Air Base filled with the world’s most renowned air display teams and aircraft, with showcases of the Gulf Air 787, RBAF, JF-17, Fursan Al Emarat, UAE Mirage 2000, RSAF Typhoon, USAF F-16 demo team, Global Stars, Red Arrows, DHL B767-300 Flypast, UAE F16, Saudi Hawks and P-8 flypast.

Among the static highlights at the airshow was the public debut of the first Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopter delivered to the Royal Bahraini Air Force.

Emirates Codeshare Pact

The Emirates A380 drew in close to 8,000 visitors during its two-day appearance at BIAS 2022. Trade visitors, aviation enthusiasts and the general public were able to experience its latest signature products, including the airline’s newest Premium Economy cabin which boasts luxurious leather seats, elegant wood accents, ample legroom, easily accessible charging points, one of the largest screens in the sky, in addition to many other meticulous touches.

In addition to its flagship A380, Emirates Flight Training Academy also displayed its Embraer Phenom 100EV training aircraft, which was visited by many aviation hopefuls interested in pursuing a career as a pilot.

During the first day of the airshow, Emirates and Gulf Air kicked off their relationship with the official signing of a codeshare agreement, which will enable Gulf Air customers to connect via Dubai to a host of Emirates’ destinations across Europe, Africa, the Far East and South America.

The agreement was signed by Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, and Captain Waleed Al Aalawy, CEO of Gulf Air, in the presence of His Excellency Zayed Al Zayani, Gulf Air Group Chairman, and senior officials from both the airlines.

Emirates is the largest operator of Airbus A380, with close to 80 aircraft presently in active service flying to 37 destinations in 25 countries, with more cities set to receive the double-decker by the end of 2022.

Emirates will retrofit more than 120 aircraft with Premium Economy seats starting this month as part of a US$2 billion investment in the onboard experience, which also includes elevated dining options and more sustainable choices.

The airline has been serving Bahrain since 2000, and currently operates three flights a day between Dubai and Bahrain International Airport.

Sustainability Workshop

Building on BIAS’s objective as providing a skill and education hub, a workshop was held by Corrin Higgs, an Airbus sustainability expert, who presented to Bahraini university students the latest innovations and sustainability trends in the aviation industry, highlighting Airbus’ journey towards clean aerospace, its sustainability strategy focus on reducing the CO2 emissions of its current aircraft, and its goal to bring the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft to market by 2035.

Cargo Partnership

Manama-based Mena Aerospace signed a strategic alliance agreement through its aircraft management business (MEA) with Singapore’s Asia Cargo Network (ACN).

The cargo partnership agreement was signed by Dr Mohammed Juman, founder and managing director of Mena Aerospace, and Marco Isaak, the CEO of ACN group.

The move will position the new alliance among the key freight players of Middle East, South Asia and Africa.

Under the agreement, ACN will base six of its cargo aircraft in Bahrain and the GCC, where it plans to service the internal MENA region as well as cargo routes into and from the region.

The first of its six aircraft, to include a B737-800F and B767-300F, are due to arrive within the next 14 months, and will begin operations immediately.

Al Worden Scholarship

The Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship Foundation and Kallman Worldwide, in association with partners from the Kingdom of Bahrain — the Bahrain National Space Science Agency (NSSA), Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications and Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) —announced the names of the 2022 Al Worden Endeavour scholarship recipients.

The selected students demonstrated drive, determination, and a desire to further their studies in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). The scholarship, named after the late Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot Colonel Al Worden, USAF-Ret. and the Endeavour spacecraft, delivers an all-expense paid, week-long, hands-on astronaut training experience at the U.S. Space and Rocket Centre’s renowned Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. It aims to foster greater international understanding and cooperation, and inspire the next generation of innovators, explorers, and leaders in the global aerospace community.

As one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, Worden was a role model for career engineers. In the decades following his historic 1971 flight, he shared his passion for exploration and innovation with tens of thousands of followers. He was an active advocate for the future engineering workforce, in all disciplines, in communities around the world.

Colonel Worden’s last visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, before his death in March 2020, was in 2018 where he joined the Kallman team in the USA Partnership Pavilion at the Bahrain International Airshow and made a number of school visits that inspired young students and encouraged them to follow STEAM education.

It was during this visit that Tom Kallman, President and CEO of Kallman Worldwide, Inc. and Worden were first received by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. King Hamad was impressed by the Endeavour Scholarship Programme and wished it to be extended to include students from the Kingdom of Bahrain. Subsequently the first award was presented to a team of four students and one educator in 2020.

The winning ‘Endeavour Mission #9’ – Bahrain crew members included:

STUDENT WINNERS: Hasan Abdulrahman Hashem; Lea Hamad Janahi; Maryam Khaled Alawadi; Naser Mohamed Alqooti.

Ms Amal Albinali, Chief of Strategic Planning & Projects Management Department, NSSA, was named ‘Educator Winner.’

Flexible B737

Texel Air, a Bahraini Cargo Airline, again displayed B737-700FlexCombi aircraft at the show.

Texel Air is said to be the only commercial operator of the B737-700FlexCombi, which can be configured to carry cargo and passengers simultaneously.

George Chisholm, CEO of Chisholm Enterprises, the parent company of Texel air, said: “Years of research, discussions with partners and consideration internally have come to fruition with our two B737-700FlexCombi. Now we are seeing first-hand the reality of this aircraft’s capabilities being able to meet and deliver our customer’s various needs providing them possibilities they have never seen before. It has been especially crucial for our business to have such flexibility during the pandemic. We have been able to switch our configurations of the B737-700FlexCombi to the changing needs of the global environment.”

The B737-700FlexCombi can be morphed into seven different configurations to suit many operational requirements. The aircraft has an extensive list of modifications and upgrades to support military, government and utility flying.

Chisholm added: “We partnered with Collins Aerospace, a leader in technology and solutions for global aerospace, and installed their Head-up Guidance System and Enhanced Flight Vision System on the B737-700FlexCombi. The installation of these systems offers enhanced low-visibility operations, schedule reliability, improved energy management, reduced carbon emissions and increased safety —all crucial things that improve the inflight experience for our pilots and our operations as a business.”

Collins Aerospace provided Texel Air with a Head-Up Guidance System (HGS) and Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) Virtual Reality (VR) trainer on their stand allowing all attendees to experience their own simulations of the technology.

BAE Systems-Inzpire Tie-up

BAE Systems and training specialists Inzpire will work together to explore the development of next generation military training.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) announced at the Bahrain Air Show, the companies will explore opportunities to bring Inzpire’s collective training expertise into BAE Systems’ future Operational Training Services.

Inzpire has been involved in live and synthetic training across air, maritime and land for almost 15 years, designing and delivering immersive training experiences for both British and international armed forces.

Their experts will work with BAE Systems on the creation of a single synthetic environment which can allow military forces to securely train using real world mission software and tactics delivering high fidelity, immersive training.

Sir Stuart Atha, Director of Training and Support Transformation, BAE Systems, said: “The modern battlespace is constantly evolving and the way we train our military forces has to change with it. That is why we are working with Inzpire and other cutting-edge technology providers like Hadean and VRAI to help us deliver the training advantage our customers need.”

Simon Gilbert, Business Development and Marketing Manager, Inzpire, said: “As experts in providing training design, development and delivery alongside a number of technical solutions, Inzpire has developed a training track-record which is perhaps unparalleled. We look forward to combining our skillsets as part of this initiative.”

The initial proof of concept, to be delivered by BAE Systems, will integrate multi-domain synthetic environments to enable complex collective training scenarios in a secure environment.

GTF-powered Aircraft

Pratt & Whitney announced at the show that Royal Jordanian Airlines (Royal Jordanian) had selected up to 30 of the latest-generation, single-aisle aircraft powered by GTF engines, replacing its entire narrow body and regional jet fleet over the coming three to five years.

Specifically, the airline has selected GTF engines to power up to 20 new Airbus A320neo family aircraft, including A320neo and A321neo models.

Royal Jordanian will introduce up to 9 GTF-powered Embraer E-Jets E2 aircraft, including E190-E2 and E195-E2 models. Pratt & Whitney will also provide the airline with engine maintenance through a long-term EngineWise Comprehensive service agreement. Aircraft deliveries are expected to begin in late 2023.

“We have selected GTF-powered aircraft for their efficiency, longer range and operating economics,” said Samer Majali, Vice Chairman /CEO at Royal Jordanian. “These aircraft will allow us to modernise our fleet and offer new routes, while keeping airfare affordable and significantly reducing our carbon emissions.”

Rick Deurloo, president of Commercial Engines at Pratt & Whitney, noted: “With the addition of these GTF-powered aircraft, Royal Jordanian will benefit from the geared fan technology that revolutionised the industry with dramatic reductions in noise, emissions and fuel consumption.”

The Pratt & Whitney GTF engine is a geared propulsion system delivering industry-leading sustainability benefits and dependable operating costs. GTF-powered aircraft reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 16 per cent to 20 per cent, NOx emissions by 50 per cent and noise footprint by 75 per cent.

Leonardo’s Latest Solutions

From airborne surveillance radar and self-protection systems to multi-mission and training aircraft, Leonardo showcased at BIAS 2022 a wide spectrum of latest generation technologies for complete situational awareness, and defence and multi-domain surveillance systems for the Arabian Gulf.

To meet the current needs, which involves constant airspace monitoring, Leonardo proposed the RAT 31DL three-dimensional surveillance radar. For the detection, classification, and tracking of small- and fast-moving aerial threats, such as mini and micro tactical uncrewed systems, the company offered the multi-domain and dual use TMMR (Tactical Multi Mission Radar) sensor.

Having sold over 2,000 training aircraft of various types to 40 countries, Leonardo showcased its latest solutions centred on the M-345 and M-346 aircraft, by which the company is able to cover the entire training syllabus.

The M-345 jet trainer is a next-generation training aircraft that offers the training effectiveness typical of a jet aircraft at costs comparable to those of high-powered turboprop trainers. Within the light attack version, it is capable of performing operational roles.

The M-346 is the main platform at the International Flight Training School (IFTS). IFTS is a result of the collaboration between Leonardo and the Italian Air Force, which counts countries such as Qatar, Singapore, Germany and Japan among its customers.

DHL-BAC Collaboration

DHL Express signed an MoU with Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of Bahrain International Airport (BIA), at the show.

The MoU will see both parties enhance collaboration on upcoming projects to support DHL’s planned investment in expanding its local operations to better serve its customers both locally and across the entire region.

The signing ceremony was held at the Bahrain International Airport stand, by the Chief Executive Officer of DHL Express MENA, Nour Suliman, and the Chief Executive Officer of BAC, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah.

Red Arrows Display

The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team performed at the Airshow for the first time as part of a visit to the Gulf to promote UK interests.

Audiences at the major aerospace and business event enjoyed a series of performances by the Red Arrows.

Decade of Distinction

On the closing of BIAS 2022, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Mohamed bin Thamer Al Kaabi, said: “The sixth edition of the event has built on the show’s previous successes and strengthened BIAS’s position as a unique platform for business development, engagement and the showcasing of the latest technological innovations in the aerospace industry. It continues to generate new opportunities in the aviation sector and the commercial and military aircraft markets.”

He added: “The event has witnessed fruitful visits and meetings, and we are looking forward to seeing the outcomes of the deals concluded by the firms. We would also like to thank the sponsors, supporters, and all participants from delegations and companies for their trust in the airshow, and we look forward to seeing them again at the next Bahrain International Airshow.”

The Bahrain International Airshow is expected to return on November 13-15, 2024.

Reference Text/Photo: Bahraininternationalairshow.com

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