Bangkok--13 Nov--Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Airbus and Boeing will break their individual annual aircraft sales records this year, thanks to the orders avalanche from the Middle East. In just two air shows (Paris and Dubai) this year, Middle East customers have made commitments for up to 715 aircraft. Remarkably, this is equivalent to 62% of Boeing’s total sales outlook for 1,160 aircraft to the Middle East for the next 20 years (2007-2026) and a staggering 76% of Airbus’ long term prediction (2006-2025) released in Nov-06 for 940 aircraft. (These commitments comprise 188 firm orders, 133 options and 222 MoU/LoIs at Dubai and 144 firm orders and 28 options at Paris). Following Emirates' and Qatar Airways' aggressive orders, another Middle East aircraft lessor has burst onto the scene. DAE Capital (a unit of the ambitious Dubai Aerospace Enterprise) has signed Letters of Intent for 100 aircraft from each manufacturer, with deliveries stretching until 2022. Airbus’ updated 2007-2026 market forecast, to be unveiled shortly, should show whether a significant upgrade in the outlook for the region is forthcoming. Boeing upped its 20-year forecast for the region by a modest 50 jets this year. In Airbus’ 2006 projections, 408 aircraft were forecast for delivery to Middle East customers in the ten years until 2015, with 532 in the following decade. Due to production constraints and sold-out lines, the first decade forecast may not be altered much - not because the orders aren't there, but because the manufacturers can't make them fast enough. But the second decade delivery prediction could swell as airlines increasingly take a long-term position — reflecting a worldwide ordering trend. As the Airbus ‘good news’ CEO, Tom Enders, said, “it's not the numbers, but the confidence in the long run”, referring to orders for aircraft right up until 2018. Many sceptics however belive that the purchasing exuberance of airlines globally is just another example of ordering at the peak of the cycle, for delivery as the market declines. If that were to prove correct, the major shift in long-haul aviation will be greatly accelerated. The Middle East (and most Asian) airlines are much more likely to be able to meet - and exploit - their aircraft commitments. In other words, a solid market decline in the next five years will herald a very different long-haul airline market with accelerated dominance from Middle East and Asian airlines.