DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — AirbusThe 2021 Dubai Air Show kicked off with a bang. They landed massive deals right from the beginning.

By Wednesday’s end, the French aerospace company had 408 orders and commitments. Its American counterpart was at the same time. BoeingFinished behind 101. Airbus is the largest global aerospace company by revenues, followed closely with Boeing. 

These order numbers, which are the largest since the Covid-19 epidemic began, represent a good sign for travel and aviation. Morgan Stanley released a Wednesday research note stating that new orders are a good sign of recovery for commercial aviation.

Airbus won its first major win at the Airshow with an order of 255 narrow-body A321neo/A321XLR aircrafts from Indigo Partners in America. Indigo Partners is an American private equity firm that buys low-cost airlines like Frontier, Wizz Air and Jetsmart.

Air Lease Corp then issued it a letter confirming its intent for the purchase of 111 Airbus products: 55 A321neos; 25 A220-300s; 20 A321XLRs; seven A350F freighters, and four A330neos.

The deal from Indigo Partners, the first major aircraft order since the pandemic began,  was a “very positive signal that we [are starting]”We need to get back on top,” Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury stated during CNBC’s show.

Kuwaiti carrier Jazeera Airways has committed to purchasing 28 Airbus A321neos and Nigeria’s Ibom Air to their first Airbus order with 10 A220s.

Analysts were surprised by the popularity of narrow-body aircraft at this year’s air show. They believe that Middle East events are more well-known for large-bodied planes for long-haul flight. 

Airbus sold the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports (an aerial refueling and tanker plane) to the UAE Air Force, Air Defense and also secured a new order from Indonesia for A400M airlifters.

Boeing was relieved to receive a huge order of 72 737 Max planes from Akasa Air, an Indian airline. Boeing also enjoyed success in freighters with 11 of its 737-808BCF cargo aircrafts ordered from Icelease. Nine converted 767-397BCF freighters were purchased from DHL. Two long-range 777F freighters were ordered from Emirates SkyCargo. 

American aerospace company, Aerospace Corporation received 4 passenger planes and 3 freighters orders from Air Tanzania. Three of the widebody 777300 passenger aircrafts were also ordered from UAE-based aviation service provider Sky One FZE.

Converted freighters and cargo planes are becoming a hot segment of the aviation sector as more people use ecommerce and their airshipment grows. The only segment of air traffic that is above 2019 levels has been cargo. Dubai’s Emirates Airline flagship was the only one to report strong cargo operations. They saw a 39% rise and brought the company up to 90% from its pre-pandemic volume. 

The freighter market is exploding right now. This is where we can see true growth,” Stan Deal of Boeing’s executive vice president, stated to CNBC Dubai, Sunday.

The company plans to add three conversion lines — facilities that convert aircraft to freighters — for its 737-800BCF across North America and Europe. 

Boeing is the market leader in air cargo, and Airbus, France’s rival, could challenge that position with the A350F cargo variant of the A350-1000 widebody passenger A350. 

Boeing’s much-anticipated 777FX — the freighter version of its long-range widebody 777X passenger jet — did not launch at the Dubai show. Emirates President Tim Clark has criticised Boeing over delays in delivery and technical issues with the 777X that Emirates ordered, but which has now been delayed to 2023.   

Since 2017, the iconic American manufacturer isn’t regarded as having performed well at the Dubai Air Show. clinched a major sale of 40 787-10 jets to Emirates AirlineThe show had a total value of $15.1 trillion on its first day.

Boeing sales suffered a severe blow ahead of the 2019 Dubai Air Show after two devastating crashes of its 737 Max jet within five months. The company’s nearly 400 Max Jets were grounded in almost two years.