FARNBOROUGH, England, 19 July 2010.Emirates, the Dubai-based commercial airline, as expected will order 30 new Boeing 777 widebody commercial jet aircraft in a deal worth more than $7 billion, according to published reports from the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England.
Emirates, the largest commercial air carrier in the Middle East, along with fellow Middle East carrier Qatar Airways were anticipated to be among the leading customers for Boeing and Airbus widebody jetliners at this year's Farnborough air show.
Emirates made a big order last month at the Berlin Air Show when the airline ordered 32 Airbus A380 super jumbo jets to increase its A380 fleet to 90 aircraft.
Emirates is on a non-stop growth quest, and Qatar Airways intends to be the next-door competitor with the potential to join Star Alliance, says Max Sukkhasantikul, commercial aviation consulting analyst at the market research firm Frost & Sullivan in London.
Meanwhile, the a test model of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jet, made primarily of strong composite materials instead of metal for range and fuel economy, landed to much fanfare at Farnborough Sunday afternoon. The Dreamliner, which industry experts say is at least two years overdue in its development, is expected to be the centerpiece of this year's Farnborough air show.
Look for daily updates from the Farnborough air show this week in the Farnborough Report e-newsletter and Web department, brought to you by Avionics Intelligence and Military & Aerospace Electronics.
