Gulf airlines are not seeking to delay or restructure Boeing aircraft deliveries and orders this year despite the continuing Iran war, as their long-term growth prospects remain intact, the US plane-maker said.
Regional airline customers remain committed to their long-term fleet expansion plans, backed by the strength of their global aviation hub models and “resilience” in the face of disruptions from the conflict, Fahad Al Mheiri, Boeing's vice president for the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa, told The National.
“It would be naive to ignore the immense financial and operational pressures on airlines right now,” he said. “However, so far, we have not had any discussions around restructuring orders or deliveries.”
He attributed this to the global scale of their operations and “great resilience” in dealing with short-term disruptions, including higher fuel prices or fluctuating travel demand. There are also signs of rebound, as the UAE reopened its airspace fully in May and Emirates is now flying about 90 per cent of its capacity, he added.
“There is clear, underlying demand for the more than 930 Boeing aircraft in our regional backlog,” Mr Al Mheiri said. The region accounts for about 14 per cent of Boeing's commercial aircraft backlog, “with no material” delivery deferrals or supply chain disruptions impacting current plans, he added.
The planemaker has delivered more than a dozen aircraft to Middle East carriers since the start of 2026, including Saudi start-up Riyadh Air's long-awaited first two 787 Dreamliners in June.
“The underlying fundamentals that helped to make the GCC into a global aviation hub remain sound and deliveries will continue apace,” Mr Al Mheiri said.
Emirates airline's boss Tim Clark told Reuters at the Farnborough Airshow in July that the carrier has no plans to defer orders and that ambitions to expand Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai in 2032 were still on track.
Appetite for new jets
Asked if Boeing still expects a strong appetite for new aircraft from Gulf carriers this year amid escalations, Mr Al Mheiri said: “Yes, we do. The resilience of Gulf carriers is not an accident; it is structural.”
He pointed to long-term advantages, including their geographic position as a “natural hub” connecting East and West, operating modern fuel-efficient long-haul jets that give them a “significant cost and performance” edge over global peers and the governments' hefty investments in aviation infrastructure.
The regional aviation sector had been steadily recovering following large-scale disruptions after the Iran war began on February 28. But air travel in the Gulf is facing renewed disruption as airlines reposition their operations amid military escalation between the US and Iran. The US has hit targets in Iran, while Iran retaliated with strikes on US sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, dealing a blow to an interim peace accord signed in June.
Last week, the European safety regulator, EASA, extended its warning to airlines to avoid flying over the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Oman, until August 31, and issued a separate advisory to avoid Jordanian airspace because of “unpredictable military developments”.
Middle East airlines in June recorded “weak but improving” demand for international air travel, Iata said in a report on July 30. June demand fell 14 per cent year-on-year, capacity fell 11 per cent on an annual basis and the load factor was 76.3 per cent. However, the rate of decline halved month-to-month since April.
Still, at the Farnborough Airshow, Middle East airlines struck a note of confidence. Riyadh Air exercised options for 28 B787s from an order placed in 2023, converting 20 of these jets to the bigger 787-10 variant. It also confirmed an order for six Airbus A350-1000 widebodies, increasing its total firm A350-1000 order book to 31 aircraft.
Meanwhile, the Saudi budget carrier Flynas firmed up an order for 25 additional Airbus aircraft, taking its total firm commitment with Airbus to 235 aircraft.
Strong global demand
Boeing maintained its forecast for strong global demand for new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years, according to its 2026 Commercial Market Outlook report in July. Industry-wide, it expects 43,625 new jet deliveries globally by 2045, half of which are to replace older planes with more fuel-efficient models.
By contrast, Boeing's European rival Airbus trimmed its projection by 1 per cent to 42,060 new aircraft due to the Iran war and trade tensions, according to its 2026 Global Market Forecast in July.
The planemakers' forecasts reflect an aviation market recovering from consecutive shocks but still constrained by manufacturing capacity and supply-chain woes.
Deferring jet deliveries because of war-related challenges would be expensive for Middle East airlines in the long term, Kamil Al Awadhi, Iata's vice president for Africa and the Middle East, told reporters at the airline group's annual general meeting in Brazil in June.
“It is not wise, because that deferral will cost you,” he said, pointing to long waiting times for aircraft as backlogs at the manufacturers stretch for years ahead. “The plan is to continue where we're going, even though this is a hiccup.”
Mr Al Mheiri said the US planemaker is having “practical and focused” discussions with airline customers facing tough operational conditions during the war. Their immediate concerns are about optimising flight routes to manage fuel burn, asking about the timely availability of spare parts from Boeing's Dubai hub and seeking technical advice on fleet management in a “rapidly shifting operational environment,” he said.
Still, the US manufacturer is “doubling down” on efforts to grow in the Middle East to create “long-term value, regardless of short-term geopolitical turbulence,” he said. To that end, Boeing is working to ensure a steady flow of spare parts to keep fleets flying, increasing on-ground technical support and investing in aerospace career initiatives and infrastructure, he added.
While stability of the Strait of Hormuz remains a concern for the aerospace industry and global trade, Boeing's global supply chain has strategic buffers and a diversified network, Mr Al Mheiri added. Its industrial footprint in the UAE, with partnerships with Mubadala's Strata and Edge's EPI, are an example of dependable suppliers and a source of critical composite aerostructures and metal components for the 777 and 787 programmes, he said.
The Emirati executive, who joined Boeing in January 2026, just before the war, said his top priority is to deepen strategic partnerships in the region, support national aviation and industrial ambitions by investing in the local workforce and boost Boeing's role as a contributor to the region's future as a global aerospace hub.
