HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman & Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group, today officially opened the third running Aircraft Interiors and fourth edition of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul shows.
HH Sheikh Ahmed toured the exhibition halls, welcoming back companies such as Boeing and Lufthansa Technik and attending B/E Aerospace’s unveiling of their new interior ‘Essence Galley equipment collection,’ He also received updates on the latest technology available in first class seats from EADS Sogerma.
Jeffrey Forsbrey, VP Sales & Marketing, EADS Sogerma said “It was our second time meeting Sheikh Ahmed as we had the pleasure of meeting him two years ago at AIME. He was very interested in the development of our product ‘Ultimate 17’ as it comes with a full flat horizontal bed called the ‘Ultimate Sleeper’ it was a joint venture with Lufthansa Technik innovations, we have integrated their sleeper technology into the seat that gives you a real bed experience.”
The first day of AIME and MRO ME at the Airport Expo saw over 2,400 visitors and 200 exhibitors this is the biggest yet, and with one more day, F&E Aerospace and partners Aviation Week are expecting record breaking numbers.
The theme of the MRO conference ‘Addressing Today the Needs of Tomorrow’ which was addressed by Jamal Hashim, Director of Engineering, Gulf Air during his keynote speech said “We will only grow stronger if we collaborate and have some synergy in our corporation, components, for instance - we are operating A320 fleet as are so many airlines in the region, I don’t know why we would invest heavily in having a pool in Bahrain, a pool in the Emirates, a pool in Egypt and a pool in Jordan it makes no sense to be honest, the region is small and competition is high but we can only work smarter with a collaboration at this level, so there are plenty of areas where we can work together.”
Michele Van Akelijen, Aerospace Director at F&E Aerospace, said: “The number of trade visitors on the first day of Aircraft Interiors and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul has exceeded expectations, with over 280 airline attendees from 66 airlines visiting the show. These two events AIME and MRO provide a great networking opportunity for airlines and suppliers.”
“The MRO industry in the Middle East is on an upward spiral as highlighted by our speakers today,” said Lydia Janow, Director of Conferences & Exhibitions for Aviation Week. “It is our fourth running MRO ME show, we are renowned for organising MRO conferences and exhibitions in all the other regions across the globe, and this is now one of our most successful events.”
Photo caption 1: HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum - pictured with Alison Weller, Managing Director, F&E Aerospace and Jeffrey Forsbrey, VP Sales & Marketing, EADS Sogerma - admires the company’s ‘Ultimate 17’ aircraft seat at the Aircraft Interiors and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul shows at Airport Expo.
For F&E Aerospace, contact: Ms Gemma L’Appanna, PR Manager, M: +971555163914; E: gemma.lappanna@dubai.aero
