Emirates Airline Places Record Boeing Order

Dubai's fast-growing airline, Emirates, kicked off the region's biggest airshow today with an order for 50 Boeing 777s, which the US-based aircraft maker described as its biggest single order in dollar terms in history. The list price for the deal is $18 billion, but airlines typically negotiate discounts for large orders.

Although the Gulf airlines are the among the world's most ambitious in expanding their fleets and routes, a deal the size of the Emirates contract had not been expected at the airshow because of the large backlog of planes already on order for Emirates and rivals such as Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Qatar Airways. "It sustains a lot of jobs in the United States—several thousand," says Boeing's CEO. Click to read more about Boeing's oft-delayed flagship Dreamliner. (More Dubai stories.)