Airbus announces mammoth Middle Eastern jet orders worth more than $30bn
Airbus has announced orders for more than 170 planes this morning, in a mammoth set of deals valued at more than $30bn at list prices.
Air Arabia, a low-cost Emirati carrier has ordered 120 narrow-body planes including the A320neo and A321 XLR models, while Dubai government airline Emirates placed an order for 50 of the bigger A350 planes.
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The orders were announced today at the Dubai air show.
Emirates’ deliveries are expected to begin in 2023. It replaces a previous agreement in February, when Emirates said it wanted to buy 30 A350s and 40 of the smaller A330 Neo model.
Both airlines said the orders would help them expand to new destinations.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ chairman, said the A350s would “compliment” the existing fleet.
“[They] will give us added operational flexibility in terms of capacity, range and deployment,” he said.
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An Emirates-marked Airbus A380 did a low-altitude flypast in Dubai this morning to mark the opening of the air show.
Airbus has announced plans to stop making the A380, which is the world’s biggest commercial passenger plane, after Emirates, its largest customer, decided to reduce its orders for the superjumbo jet.