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Emirates orders 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners

Emirates, at the recent Dubai Airshow, placed a firm order for 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplanes in line with its previous 777X family order. The purchase of 30 787-9 Dreamliners is valued at $8.8 billion US, according to list prices.

Emirates previously signed an initial agreement for the larger 787-10 variant, but officially selected the 787-9 in Dubai through its November 30 announcement. As part of the agreement, Emirates will also update its order book by exercising substitution rights and converting 30 777 airplanes into the 30 787-9s.

“This is an important investment and addition to our future fleet and it reflects Emirates’ continued efforts to provide the best quality air transport services to our customers,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates. “The 787s will complement our fleet mix by expanding our operational flexibility in terms of capacity, range and deployment. We are also pleased to reaffirm our commitment to the Boeing 777X program and look forward to its entry into service.”

With this conversion, Emirates remains the world’s biggest 777X customer with 126 airplanes on order and the largest 777 operator with 155 airplanes today.

At 63 metres (206 feet), the 787-9 Dreamliner can fly 296 passengers, in a typical two-class configuration, up to 7,530 nautical miles. Boeing states the Dreamliner has allowed airlines to open 257 new non-stop routes around the world.

More than 80 customers around the world have ordered more than 1,400 Dreamliners since the program’s introduction, making it the fastest-selling widebody jet in history.