[typhoonpilot]

I've been watching the thread, mrvic cleared up a lot of the misconceptions already.

Dubai and the United Arab Emirates benefit from many factors. Yes, oil was part of it, but the majority of the oil is in Abu Dhabi. Dubai has been a trading hub since the late 1800s when the ruler granted tax concessions to foreign traders. The UAE has been independent from Britain since 1971. The ruling families are very progressive and tolerant, unlike many of the other kingdoms in the area. That has led Dubai and the UAE to be the most stable country in the region. The local populace is well taken care of and many are quite entreprenurial. The non-oil sector currently accounts for more than 90% of Dubai's GDP.

Another major factor in Dubai's rise to prominence is it's perfect geographical location halfway between Europe and Asia/Africa. This combined with the stability of the country has led many international corporations to set-up their regional headquarters in the area.

The climate is a third beneficial factor for the country. Dubai's winter climate is perfect. With world class coastal resorts and a relatively short ( 5.5 to 7.5 hours ) flight from Europe it has become a very popular tourist destination.

The acceleration of the economy post 9-11 can be attributed to the Arab repatriation of investment money from the western world. When the western powers, especially George W., started threatening the Arab investments by unilaterally freezing assets the Arabs repatriated $300 Billion in investment money. That money has been put to work in infrastructure projects like the beginning post shows. The further oil revenues at today's prices have led to further spending in the region.

The UAE, and Dubai in particular, are a very popular weekend getaway for many of the other Gulf area citizens. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the ease of travel make it a nice weekend getaway.

Emirates Airline capitalizes on all of this. If one were to draw an 8 hour flight circle around Dubai it takes in all of India, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and most of Asia including China. The total population within that 8 hour circle is close to 5 Billion people. Imagine the connection possibilities wth that kind of cachement area. This is what Emirates is gorwing with. O and D traffic is around 40% of load, but 60% is connecting traffic.

When I joined Emirates they were talking about a final fleet of 100 aircraft. That was 5 years ago and we now have around 110 total with a new projection over 200. They will be hiring over 400 pilots this year and around 300 the year after that.

Now back to property. Many people are buying the property here. The list of buyers and their reasons is incredibly varied. The Europeans are buying as vacation and retirement homes. The Russians are buying for winter getaways and as a great way to launder their ill gotten gains. People from other Mid-East countries are buying because they want an escape if their country implodes. Expats who live here buy so they have a nice stable mortgage and a decent place to live. I'm sure I've missed some of the reasons.

A lot of pilots have become very wealthy by investing in the local property market over the last 5 years. Much like Cathay pilots in Hong Kong did many years ago.

Dubai is a true boom town. They are trying to emulate city states like Hong Kong and Singapore. The leadership is intelligent, progressive, and well educated. They have great visions for their country and the determination and money to make it happen.

It's actually a very exciting thing to be part of.


Typhoonpilot

P.S. Not San Francisco, Santa Barbara. Look for me on the inaugural California flight, hopefully this year.