Dubai’s flagship airline, Emirates announced on
Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Boeing for purchase of 30 787-9
Dreamliner jets. Sources from the Dubai Air Show reported that the executives
from Boeing have made a similar announcement as well.
Emirates was previously in a deal with the American
plane-maker for the purchase of 777x jets. Following the unexpected delay
in the production of 777x due to technical issues including engine problems
highlighted in the testing phase, Emirates has now opted to purchase 30 of Boeing’s
787-9 jets instead.
Emirates Order Is Currently Valued At $8.8 Billion
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The 787-9 jet relies on its wider body with a two-class
layout that supports seating for as many as 330 passengers. As per the report,
the deal is currently valued at $8.8 billion. However, airlines are known to
negotiate massive discounts on orders as huge as Emirates has placed with
Boeing, which is likely to significantly reduce the overall cost for Emirates.
According to the experts, the deal holds unparalleled
importance for the U.S plane-maker. Two of Boeing’s 737 Max jets have had
tragic crashes in a short period of five months that resulted in 346 known
casualties. 400 of Boeing’s 737 Max jets were forced to be grounded in March
2019 following the catastrophes. The overall sales, therefore, have taken a
huge blow in the past 8 months. Striking a deal with Emirates may now
contribute to minimizing the financial losses for Boeing.
Tim Clark, the president of Emirates Airline,
commented in a press conference that Emirate plans on expanding its fleet with
the start of 2020, aimed at maintaining its reputation as the largest
international airline across the globe. He further added that the airline is
targeting 30% expansion by the year 2025.
Emirates Has Also Ordered 50 Airbus A350-900 Jets
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Emirates currently has a fleet comprising 270 aircrafts
in total including 12 freight. Earlier this week on Monday, the airline also
announced a deal with Airbus for the
purchase
of 50 A350-900 jets; a deal valued at $16 billion (list prices). Emirates
canceled its order for French plane-maker’s A330neo jets in November to opt for
the wider-body yet light weighed A350 instead.
Boeing’s stock was reported gaining traction following Emirates’ announcement of the deal. The stock opened at $366 on Wednesday. After printing a high of around $370, Boeing is currently trading at $369.10. The stock has lost significantly in 2019 following two tragic crashes. The year-to-date high for Boeing is around $440 that was last seen in March 2019.
