Emirates Airline of Dubai and Boeing Co. on Wednesday announced finalization of an order for 150 Boeing 777X, which is a Boeing’s reconditioned version of its wide-bodied plane, in an arrangement that’s valued at $56 billion.
The order for the two types of the 777X was first revealed at the Dubai air show in November and boosted the jet’s introduction in to the market, making it the biggest product launch in the history of commercial aircraft. As per the order, Emirates expects to receive 115 777-9X and 35 777-8X Boeing jets. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the carrier reserves the right to buy 50 extra models of the jet, which might push the order price to the $75 billion mark at list prices.
Chief executive of emirates Tim Clark said the airline runs a fleet of 138 Boeing 777 aircraft and expects 208 Boeing 777s of either the current or refurbished versions to arrive.
“The 777X will offer us operational flexibility in terms of range, more passenger capacity and fuel efficiency,†Clark stated.
The 777X, which is more fuel-efficient will commence production in 2017 to be delivered in 2020. Currently, the plane has received 300 orders and commitments on a global scale from customers such as Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.
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“With the order for 150 777Xs, Emirates now has 208 Boeing 777s pending delivery, creating and securing jobs across the supply chain,†Clark is quoted by Reuters as saying.
The deal was announced days ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow, conventionally a platform at which plane orders worth billions are revealed.
Also, the agreement follows an unexpected cancellation in June of an order by Emirates to purchase 70 A350 planes manufactured by Airbus in a deal worth $16 billion. The cancellation was a setback to Airbus’ latest plane and hurt its share price.
To contact the reporter of the story: Yashu Gola at yashu@forexminute.com
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