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DUBAI:
Dubai-based airline Emirates said on Monday it was ordering another 65 Boeing 777-9 jets, cementing its position as the world’s biggest buyer of wide-body jets as the US planemaker agreed to carry out a feasibility study for a larger version.
Emirates valued the deal for Boeing’s largest in-production jet at $38 billion, though analysts say carriers typically win steep discounts for large transactions.
The announcement at the opening of the Dubai Airshow brings Emirates’ orders for the 777X family to 270 jets and comes despite recent delays in delivery of the world’s largest twin-engined jetliner.
“It is a long-term commitment that supports hundreds of thousands of high-value factory jobs,” Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum told a news conference.
Emirates said its agreement with Boeing “provides strong backing” for a new feasibility study to be carried out by Boeing to develop a 777-10, a larger variant of its 777X family.
The deal provides Emirates with options to convert its latest order for the 400-seat 777-9 into the possible 777-10, if Boeing decides to go ahead with such a development, or else the smaller existing 777-8 version, the airline said in a statement.
