Juggernauts grab spotlight from jumbos at Dubai Airshow

The nuts and bolts of post-pandemic trade loomed over the first major aerospace event since the coronavirus crisis on Sunday, as planemakers touted new freighters plans at the Dubai Airshow. Airbus and Boeing are hoping to launch the West’s first all-new flying juggernauts in 25 years as e-commerce gets a boost from the global pandemic. Airbus, without a buyer after launching a freighter version of its A350 jet in the summer, was knocking on the door of one the industry’s go-to patrons for new plane launches, Steven Udvar-Hazy’s Air Lease Corp, industry sources said. And for best-selling small passenger planes, the founder of Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air was also seen ready to hand Airbus an order in Dubai, four years after taking part in a group of airlines striking a record deal at the same event. Reuters reported in September that Wizz was in negotiations with Airbus over the purchase of at least 100 more jets. Air Lease is expected to be among early customers for a long-haul A350 freighter alongside an unspecified cargo firm, industry publication The Air Current reported.<br/>