Emirates Airline announced another historic civil aviation aircraft order at the recent Dubai Airshow, when it signed contracts for 120 Airbus A350s, 11 A380s, and 12 Boeing 777-300ERs, worth an estimated US$34.9 billion in list prices.
Emirates said it intends to sell as much as 30 per cent of the company in an initial public offering to help finance the massive aircraft order.
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 US$3.2 billion. 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.
Emirates’ total order book now stands at 246 aircraft, all wide body, and worth over US$60 billion. "This is a massive investment which reflects our confidence in the future of air transport, and our confidence in Dubai," said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates chairman and chief executive.
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 inflight products to match our cutting-edge aircraft fleet."