Industry Emirates orders 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The finalized purchase agreement for 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is valued at approximately US$8,8 billion according to current list prices. The agreement culminates discussions between the two companies on the best 787 Dreamliner model to meet the airline´s requirements. In previous months, Emirates has been thinking about purchasing the 787-10 variant.

Emirates had previously signed an initial agreement to buy the larger 787-10 variant but has now officially selected the 787-9. Therewith, the carrier complements its growing 77X family fleet. In the future, Emirates will fly with the 787-9, the 777-8 and 777-9.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive said: "I am pleased to announce a firm order for 30 Boeing Dreamliners. 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. 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 programme and look forward to its entry into service."

Sheikh Ahmed added: "Our Boeing fleet is key to our business model to serve international demand for travel to and through our Dubai hub, as we continue to contribute to the UAE's strategy to become a global destination for business and tourism by providing high quality air connectivity."

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President & CEO Stan Deal added: "We are excited to finalize this important order from one of the world's leading airlines. Our agreement solidifies Emirates' plan to operate the 787 Dreamliner and the 777X, which make up the most efficient and most capable widebody combination in the industry [...] It is an honor to build on our successful partnership with Emirates and continue to sustain many jobs at Boeing and our supplier partners."

With this order, Emirates has also decided to update a portion of its order book. The airline is exercising substitution rights and converts 30 777 aircraft into 30 787-9s. Even with this conversion, Emirates remains being the largest 777X customer with 126 aircraft on order.

Emirates is an airline from the United Arab Emirates and was initially founded in March 1985. The main operational hub is at Dubai International. The fleet consists of 113 Airbus A380s and 155 Boeing 777s. On Dubai Air Show 2019, the airline also ordered 50 A350 XWB aircraft.