ek orders 50 new jets.
Emirates has plans to order up to 50 or more mid-size jets to fill a gap in its fleet, a company official confirmed.
Mike Simon, senior vice president of corporate communications for Emirates, said the airline was talking to Airbus about its new A350XWB and to Boeing about its 787 Dreamliner to expand its fleet of planes in the 250- to 350-passenger category.
"It probably would be around 50, or maybe more," Simon said. At around $150 million per plane according to list price, such an order would come out to $7.5 billion.
Emirates already has about 100 planes on order, including 43 of the giant Airbus A380s which are suffering a 22-month delay.
Emirates has given its design preferences to both manufacturers, said Simon, suggesting that the company that Emirates selects for the contract may be the one that changes its planes to fit its needs.
'Nitty-gritty'
"We have talked to Boeing and we are hoping that they will eventually produce a 787 with a longer range and a bit higher [seating] capacity," Simon said. He also said Emirates still needed to get into the "nitty-gritty" and see what the A350 planes could do. "It's still in the very early stages," he said.
On December 1 Airbus announced it would go ahead with the A350XWB, a larger, more powerful version of its A350 with a carry capacity of between 270 to 350 passengers.
The first of the A350WXB planes will be ready in 2012, right at the time Emirates will replace its Airbus A330 aircraft and its older Boeing 777s.
'Nitty-gritty'
"We have talked to Boeing and we are hoping that they will eventually produce a 787 with a longer range and a bit higher [seating] capacity," Simon said. He also said Emirates still needed to get into the "nitty-gritty" and see what the A350 planes could do. "It's still in the very early stages," he said.
On December 1 Airbus announced it would go ahead with the A350XWB, a larger, more powerful version of its A350 with a carry capacity of between 270 to 350 passengers.
The first of the A350WXB planes will be ready in 2012, right at the time Emirates will replace its Airbus A330 aircraft and its older Boeing 777s.