Emirates Airline Signs Deal With Boeing to Buy 30 B787-9 Planes at Dubai Airshow

CAIRO (Sputnik) – UAE-based global aviation company Emirates said on Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with American firm Boeing to buy 30 of its 787-9 Dreamliners worth $8.8 billion on the sidelines of an international air show, which is running in the Emirati city of Dubai from 17-21 November.

"This deal includes Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with deliveries commencing in May 2023 and continuing for the next five years," the company said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that this takes Emirates’ total order to 126 777X aircraft, the delivery of which will be discussed with Boeing over the next few weeks.

The Emirates’ total order with Boeing during the Dubai air show is at $24.8 billion and includes an Airbus A350 trade order on Monday worth $16 billion.

"This is an important investment and addition to our future fleet and network requirements, providing us the agility, flexibility and spread of seat segments when it comes to overall capacity to serve a range of destinations as we develop and grow our global route network," Emirates CEO Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who signed the deal with his counterpart from Boeing, said, as quoted in the statement.

For his part, Boeing President Stanley Deal also stressed that his firm welcomed the finalisation of the trade deal and would continue to work on strengthening its partnership with Emirates.

"Our agreement solidifies Emirates’ plan to operate the 787 Dreamliner and the 777X, which make up the most efficient and most capable wide-body combination in the industry," Deal noted.

Emirates’ has maintained a steady partnership with Boeing for decades. The UAE aviation company is now the largest Boeing 777 operator, with 155 aircraft in operation. In 2013, Emirates ordered 150 Boeing 777x airplanes. However, Emirates' President Tim Clark said in June of 2019 that the company wanted to cancel or defer its order.