A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Following the playing of the UAE’s national anthem, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum officially opened MEBAA 2018 this morning with a ceremonial ribbon cutting before embarking on a tour of the exhibition hall and static display like any true business aviation aficionado. Joined by Ali Alnaqbi, MEBAA’s founding and executive chairman, and a retinue of some dozen aides and airport authorities, Sheikh Ahmed proceeded along aisles lined with attendees eager to greet His Highness, stopping at a number of booths along the way.

 


Observers closely monitor these biennial tours as if to divine regional market intelligence. The Sheikh is, after all, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, and CEO and chairman of the Emirates Group, the aviation holding company that owns Emirates Airline. But as those titles and his animated interest in the displays indicated, Sheikh Ahmed is also passionate about aviation, and the tour route is typically arranged beforehand to showcase services and aircraft that interest the Sheikh and/or are making their debuts at the convention or in the region.

 


At Click Aviation he listened to an explanation of the UAE-based support services platform. He greeted the exhibitors at engine manufacturer Pratt &amp; Whitney and Canada-based training provider CAE&nbsp;and exchanged warm words with Mohammed Alzeer, general partner of completion specialist GDC Technics. Honeywell Aerospace, Aloft AeroArchitects, Dubai-based DC Aviation, and charter management and FBO company ExecuJet, which has a base in Dubai, were among other stops as the Sheikh and his entourage moved easily through the hall, led by a scrum of backward-walking photographers and videographers.&nbsp;

 


From the exhibition hall, the group headed to the aircraft on static display. Stops included a Leonardo AW109 helicopter that Abu Dhabi’s Falcon Aviation has on static display, where he peered into the cockpit and cabin. He climbed on board the Gulfstream G650ER, the HondaJet Elite, and the Airbus ACJ340 that newly established Citadel Completions of the U.S. has on display. Other boarded aircraft included the Comlux Sukhoi Superjet, making its MEBAA debut; and the newly delivered Boeing BBJ 787 Dreamliner with an interior from Greenpoint Technologies. Sheikh Ahmed also inspected mockups of Airbus Corporate Helicopters’ Mercedes-Benz Style cabin&nbsp;and the cabin mockup of Bombardier’s Global 7500, the world’s largest purpose-built business jet, whose first delivery is imminent.

 


The last stop was the Dubai South chalet, where he was briefed on the latest developments at the master-planned city that will surround Al Maktoum International Airport&nbsp;and host the forthcoming Expo 2020 Dubai.&nbsp;

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