Dubai’s Emirates Airline Purchases Record Number Of Boeing 777 Aircraft

In a surprise move the Dubai government owned airline carrier Emirates has agree to purchase 50 Boeing 777s from the US-based aircraft maker, a deal worth a list price of $18 billion. It’s expected that the company would likely have received a discount for their large order however in dollar terms it’s still sure to be the biggest single order ever placed with Boeing.

The deal comes at a surprising time for Boeing and Emirates, because of demand Boeing is currently backordered and those delays include planes already owed to Emirates along with their competitors the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Qatar Airways.

Speaking of the deal Jim Albaugh president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said:

“It sustains a lot of jobs in the United States—several thousand.”

Before Sunday’s deal the company already had placed 40 planes on order and by adding 10 more to their request they now have nearly as many twin-aisle planes on order as they currently operate. The company also operates Airbus A330s, A340s and a double-decker A380.

The $18 billion purchase for the Dubai government owned carrier comes just after the country has begun to climbed out of a debt-fueled meltdown.

As a country that has prided themselves in recent memory for creating a new tourist destination this might be exactly what they need to succeed into the future. Do you think it’s smart for a Dubai government owned company to be doubling the size of their fleet when the country is still struggling to once again regain their financial footing?

[Image via Philip Lange / Shutterstock.com]