Sleepless in Seattle has nothing on Sleepless in Dubai. That and other interesting tales in a minute, but first, the big news out of the air show.

Sunday was the first day of the 2005 Dubai Air Show, and as you might expect, Emirates, the home team airline so to speak, really kicked things off. Of course, the A380 made an appearance, flying over the beach in Emirates livery. But I think even more significant was Emirates' order for 42 Boeing 777s. It's the largest single firm order in the history of the 777. And when they take delivery of the aircraft, Emirates will become the largest operator of 777s in the world!

The order announced in Dubai includes a mix of our three latest models - the 777-300 ER (24); the -200LR (10) and the 777 Freighter (8). It's a ringing endorsement of the strengths that make the 777 the leader in its twin-aisle category.

Hasn't this been an amazing year for the 777? With these 42 firm orders, we now have 106 orders for our long-range 777s (ERs, LRs, Freighters) so far in 2005. That's just one shy of the record of 107 long-range 777s ordered in 2000, the year Boeing launched the -300ER and -200LR. In terms of orders for the entire 777 line in one year, the record is 116, also in 2000.

And here's another fact I'll throw out there just for fun: the Emirates order included the 777th order for the 777. And when this order hits our orders Website, it will make it 779 total orders for the 777 since the program started.

My last trip to Dubai was for the 2003 air show. And I have to say that the growth here in just the past two years has been phenomenal. This town has evolved into a world-class center for business and tourism, and there is no sign of the growth slowing down. Besides the air show, there are conventions and meetings everywhere around town. It's clear how Emirates and the airline industry play a key role in the economic growth here as tourists and business people flock to this beautiful location.

While I'm here, I'm taking the opportunity to talk with reporters, airline officials and other groups about the market outlook for the global aviation industry and for the Middle East in particular. Obviously this is one of the major growing markets in the world. And that makes the Emirates order even more exciting for Boeing.

So I'm looking forward to seeing what Dubai looks like come air show time again in 2007, although maybe I won't wait that long to visit again. Especially since Dubai has all the comforts of home. Even some I never imagined, and wouldn't have even discovered had it not been for jet lag.

Now, I don't typically consider jet lag a benefit of air travel. For example, after my arrival in Dubai, I found myself staring into space in my hotel room, wide awake in the middle of the Arabian night. It was 3:00 in the morning on Sunday. Of course to my body clock it was the middle of the afternoon. And indeed it was 3:00 Saturday afternoon back home in Seattle. So I did what jet lagged travelers around the world do. I turned on the television. And this is where the previously unknown benefit of jet lag became known to me.

As I flipped through the channels with my remote, there it was - the Fox Sports channel and the Apple Cup football game broadcast live to my hotel room halfway around the world. But then I blinked at the score and it was Sleepless in Dubai meets Nightmare in Seattle. The fourth quarter had just started and my Washington State Cougars were losing to the Washington Huskies 22-19.

It didn't look good. But as I watched with my own bleary eyes, the Cougs scored a touchdown in the closing moments and pulled off a 26-22 victory to win the Apple Cup for the second year in a row.

So thank you Emirates. Thank you Dubai. And thank goodness for jet lag.