The sky is not the limit for Emirates

The $35 billion order by Emirates airline for new aircraft is a statement of intent, and the scale of that intent is startling.

The largest order in aviation history tells a wonderstruck world that Dubai's carrier means business in a very big way, and not just in terms of accommodating 66 A380 superjumbos into its fleet. Emirates is aiming to rule the skies, its equipment total set roughly to triple over the next ten years from 111 today.

It's not just about the company's own inherent ambition. The practical consideration is to ensure that the manufacturers will be able to deliver, given that the American market is recovering from its 9/11 legacy, and US carriers will usurp production slots if they're not booked now.

It's also about vision. Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates chairman, has characterised the proposed purchase as attempting to keep up with Dubai's strategic plan. In ten years' time, passenger capacity of 220 million will be needed, compared to 30 million now.

With oil prices now in the $90s, the Gulf is accumulating funds as never before, with diversification efforts into tourism, finance and real estate also truly taking off.

Pockets are deep, financing the most towering of ambitions. As Burj Dubai reaches ever further into the sky, the city's profile is already internationally well-known, with its sponsorship of the mass-participation sports football and cricket especially spreading the brand.

Besides its own cosmopolitan population, Dubai links every substantial metropolis around the planet with only one stop between.

Emirates literally takes that message out to the world. The $35 billion marker it has put on the table is to tell us that what we can already see, and may sometimes disbelieve, is only really the beginning.

The sky is not so much the limit as a stepping-stone to further outstanding success.