Leading Gulf carriers Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways are in talks with Boeing co. to order more than 200 redesigned 777x jetliners, according to a report, citing sources.

Dubai-based Emirates is in discussions for 100 to 150 of the 777x jetliners, while its Abu Dhabi counterpart Etihad is eyeing as many as 30. Qatar Airways is in discussions for “about 50,” reported the Gulf News.

The news of the Boeing discussions comes out just 17 days ahead of the Dubai Airshow, it stated

Emirates is set to place an order for 100 Boeing 777X aircraft at the show in a deal worth $32 billion, the report stated. Also Emirates will place an additional order for 30 Airbus A380s, said the report.

Flydubai, too is likely to order at least 50 aircraft worth $5 billion at this year’s event in line with its expansion strategy.

Meanwhile, Middle East airlines showed their strongest year-over-year passenger traffic growth at 10.4% in September and the trend is likely to continue, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The positive outlook is supported by the regional economies such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE showing continued strong growth in non-oil sectors and robust increases in new export orders. Capacity expanded by 13%, pushing down load factor 1.9% points to 77.2%, said the report.

 

Source: Gulf News; IATA