One of the great things about reporting from the Air Show is that we get front row seats for the air displays that take place each day.

Stealing the show and giving the final performance of the day was the UK’s Red Arrows flying team. All RAF pilots, each of the nine man team flies for the Red Arrows for three years. Every three years, three pilots leave and a new three are drafted in, so that there is never fewer than six experienced pilots performing the stunts.

Below is the Spanish Air Force’s Patrulla Aguila team, which performed a similar - and also impressive - routine. It ended in style too, as the team landed on the runway in formation.

Delegates at the Dubai Air Show were treated to a range of flying displays from various planes and acrobatic teams from around the world. Among the planes showing off its flying prowess was the Airbus A380. The plane is huge. And we mean HUGE. But also, it was surprisingly quiet considering its size.

AME Info took a guided tour of one of Silverjet’s all-business class aircraft on display at the Dubai Air Show. Our first impression was that the interior felt roomy, as the seats are more spread out than on a typical aircraft. All of the 102 seats fold down into a bed that stretches 6 feet 3 inches.

The seats are comfortable and have an electronic massage feature. Each passenger has their own personal on-demand system, which looks like a portable DVD player, to use for watching movies or listening to music. The portable nature of the device means you can hold it in your hand or fasten it to the seat in front of you, whichever you prefer.

The aircraft also features a ’sleeper service’ (flights are designated as a Quiet Zone on night flights), specially designed menus, a ladies-only toilet, and a cabin crew to passenger ration of one to 10.

The conveniences of using Silverjet go beyond the in-flight comforts. The airline will be the only scheduled airline to use the executive terminal at Dubai International Airport for arrivals and departures. Passengers will be able to enjoy a luxury lounge, chair-side check-in and immigration, WiFi facilities, dedicated security and a 30 minute check-in.

The price for all of this luxury and convenience will be about £1,100 round trip from Dubai to Luton Airport, near London. Daily service between the two cities is scheduled to begin November 18.

It isn’t only fast cars that are going to be in the spotlight at this week’s Middle East International Motor Show but fast drivers too! Two time Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen will be putting in an appearance at the show on Wednesday, November 14.

The flying Finn, who stepped out of F1 back in 2001, will on the Mercedes-Benz stand to unveil a limited edition racing version of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Only 21 cars will be built and they will be designed specifically for the race track and not the road.

The SLR 722 GT, developed by the UK’s RML Group, certainly packs a punch with a meaty supercharged AMG 5.5-litre V8 engine lurking under its bonnet, capable of generating a peak output of 680 PS and a top speed of 315 kilometres per hour.

Such a specification will surely have even a top racer like Hakkinen drooling at the prospect of taking it for a spin.

Boeing has one-upped its rival Airbus with the announcement of a $13.7 billion deal to sell 100 planes to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. Earlier this morning, Airbus had announced a $13.5 billion deal to sell 70 A320s and 30 A350s to DAE.

DAE’s purchase of Boeing aircraft comprises 70 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft and 30 wide body planes. The wide-body fleet will be split between Boeing 787s, 777s, and 747s.

The purchase price of the Boeing deal incorporates an associated deal with GE for 70 CFM56-7B engines for the 737s, GEnx-engines to power five Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental and further GE90-115B engines to power 10 777-300ER aircraft.

So, the battle between the two rivals continues. But with two days left of the Air Show, who knows what else is in store.

The owner flyer market, much like that of the corporate jet market, is entering a boom period, as materials become lighter, helping to make planes more fuel efficient and cheaper to run. And with so much money sloshing around in the Middle East, it is making it an attractive region for manufacturers.

Among those on display at the Air Show is Cirrus’ imaginatively named The Jet. Thankfully more attractive in looks than name (it is, we were told a working title that has stuck, but may change in the future), the $1m plane is three to four years away from being released. 

It uses a turbo fan (jet) rather than propeller, which the manufacturer said makes the plane more fuel efficient – a key theme at this year’s Show.

As well as owner fliers, Cirrus believes this will also attract the air taxi market once it is released, another oft discussed transport means in the Middle East.

The Middle East business charter market is currently worth $500 million a year, according to Shane O’Hare, President and CEO of Abu-Dhabi based Royal Jet, the region’s leading business jet provider. Summarizing the findings of the firm’s specially-commissioned ’state of the industry’ report, O’Hare said the future of the business aviation market in the region is looking ‘extremely good.’

The report found that the region’s business aviation market has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40% in terms of aircraft movements and fleet growth. Furthermore, the value of the region’s charter market has achieved 23% annual growth over the past two years.

The United Arab Emirates is the region’s fastest growing market, with a current market value of $176 million.

Royal Jet is the region’s largest charter supplier with a 16% market share. ‘Over 50% of our business is currently emanating from the GCC, but given the roadmaps pinpointed in this research, our five year plan is looking further towards the horizon,’ O’Hare said.

Rolls Royce has added another $1.2bn in orders at the Dubai Air Show, taking its tally over two days to $9.6bn. It’s part of a deal signed by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) to buy 100 aircraft from Airbus, and marks another significant victory for the firm over arch rival Boeing at the Show.

DAE Capital, the leasing arm of DAE, announced the deal this morning to buy 70 A320s and 30 A350s, in a deal worth $13.5bn. It will take delivery of the planes between 2013 and 2022. The company has also signed a $13.7bn deal with Boeing for 100 aircraft.

Rolls Royce is supplying its Trent XWB engines to Airbus for the 30 A350 XWBs that DAE ordered – which will be delivered from 2018. DAE, which was set up in February last year and is building a range of airline businesses, including a leasing company, is due to start taking delivery of the planes in 2018.

Yesterday, Rolls Royce won $8.4bn in orders via Emirates’ deal with Airbus to take 70 A350 XWBs, with an option to take another 50. The company said that usually, options in the airline business are exercised.