Steven J. Hill

'We are hoping for a similar outcome in terms of orders in 2007,' he told AME Info. 'The year has certainly got off to a very good start with the show in Dubai.

'In 2006 we sold four Boeing 747-8 aircraft in the region to royal families, four of our new 787 Dreamliners and four Boeing Business Jets. The production of the 787 is on schedule and we will start deliveries to the business and private sector in 2010.'

These are good times for Boeing which has recaptured its lead over long-standing European rival Airbus whose A380 superjumbo aircraft is now embarrassingly more than one year late being delivered to launch customers like Emirates.

'Aviation is a dynamic and cyclical market, and all manufacturers go through it,' Mr. Hill generously concedes. 'We were several months late with the Boeing 747-400 series though nothing like as late as the A380. But these things happen.

'So far we have 473 firm orders for the 787 - which is the replacement for the 767 - and we have not delivered a single one. But this aircraft is already influencing our technology, and the 747-8 ordered by the Middle East royal families incorporates some of its wing technology, for example.'

In the Middle East there are 33 of the 737-derived Boeing Business Jets on order or in service, and a further 70 older models being used in business or VIP roles. This makes Boeing the biggest supplier in this field of regional aviation.

AME Info inspected the latest top-model Boeing Business Jet which is fitted out in the manner of a gentleman's club with dark woods and leather combined with flat screen TV monitors. There is also a double bedroom to the rear complete with shower room en suite.

'Our range of business planes is from 800 square feet on the smallest BBJ up to 4,500 square feet on the 747-8,' explains Mr. Hill. 'That is the widest range of existing aircraft offered by any manufacturer'.

He also stressed the superior speed of Boeing aircraft over their rivals, joking in his presentation to the Middle East Business Aviation Conference that he would have arrived an hour quicker in Dubai from New York in a 777 rather than an Airbus.

And for the Boeing Business Jet series top speeds range from Mach 0.8 to 0.85, all with ranges that comfortably reach Europe or Asia non-stop from Dubai. With the 747-8 its 9-10,000 nautical mile range brings almost any destination on the planet within range.