Emirates to purchase 30 787-9 airplanes

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An airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has committed to buying 30 787-9 Dreamliner airplanes from the Boeing Co. in a deal valued at $8.8 billion at current list prices.

The order from Emirates was announced last week at the Dubai Airshow. The airline committed to buying 40 787-10 planes in 2017.

In ordering the dash-9, Emirates is updating a portion of a previous 777 order, substituting 30 777 planes for the 787-9, according to a news release. Emirates currently operates 155 of Boeing’s 777 jets and has 126 777X planes on order.

“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,” CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in the release. “The 787s will complement our fleet mix by expanding our operational flexibility in terms of capacity, range and deployment.”

The 787-9 can fly up to 296 passengers in a typical two-class configuration, with a range of 7,530 nautical miles.