Emirates makes aviation history

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates' Chairman and Chief Executive, announced the massive order at the 10th Dubai Airshow; and signed the contracts with Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO, and Lee Monson, Vice President Middle East and Africa Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The agreement with Airbus comprises firm orders for 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, plus 50 options for the A350-900s. The first A350 will be delivered to Emirates in 2014.

Emirates also firmed up orders on the eight A380s for which it had signed letters of intent earlier this year, and placed firm orders for an additional three of the double-decker aircraft, bringing its total firm order for the A380s to 58.

The contract with Boeing is for 12 firm orders of the 777-300ERs, valued at $3.2bn. With this new order, Emirates now has 57 Boeing 777s pending delivery and is set to become the world's largest 777 operator in the next few years.

Sheikh Ahmed also inked agreements today with Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls Royce for the Trent XWB engines to power Emirates' new A350s; with Bruce Hughes, President of the Engine Alliance for the GP7200 to power its additional A380s; and with Scott Donnelly, President and CEO of GE Aviation for GE90 engines to power Emirates' 777-300ERs.

In total, Emirates' firm aircraft and engine orders announced today are worth $23.4bn - a value that increases to $34.9bn if the 50 options are included. This is the largest-ever aircraft commitment in civil aviation made by any airline in a single order.

Sheikh Ahmed said: "Emirates is committing close to $35bn today for new aircraft. Our total order includes 93 aircraft on firm order and 50 on option. Once again, Emirates is making aviation history."

Emirates' total order book now stands at 246 aircraft, all wide body, and worth over $60bn. This is a massive investment which reflects our confidence in the future of air transport, and our confidence in Dubai."

He added: "In 2003, our plan was for Emirates to have 100 aircraft by 2010. We have already surpassed that target. Growth and demand has exceeded the most optimistic projections. Dubai is investing billions to secure its future as a leading centre for business, tourism, and air transport on the global stage. Likewise, Emirates is investing in a fleet for the future, in order to support Dubai's development, as well as the growth of air travel demand around the world."

"The new aircraft we have ordered today are all of the latest technology - they are greener and more efficient to operate. At the same time, they will allow Emirates to continue setting the gold standard in service. We intend to invest millions of dollars more to develop cutting-edge in-flight products to match our cutting-edge aircraft fleet."

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