Global reach

Emirates and the Qantas deal

The observation deck on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, features virtual reality binoculars which you can look through to see what the view of Dubai would have looked like from two decades ago. Today Dubai has something of a ‘city of the future’ feel, with its towering skyline of glass and steel skyscrapers, man-made Palm Island, multi-lane freeways and elevated metro train system.

But the view from 20 years ago shows just a few low-rise buildings and sand, lots and lots of sand. So Dubai stands as an impressive monument to thinking big, not being constrained by history or environment, and executing on an ambitious vision (leaving aside the minor detail that Dubai nearly went broke during the GFC, and had to be bailed out by its neighboring emirate in Abu Dhabi – hence the naming of the Burj Khalifi after Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emir of Abu Dhabi).