Aircraft
Air Arabia Neo Deal Caps Dubai’s Order Activity
Airframers collect $32 billion worth of sales during Dubai Air Show’s second day.
Air Arabia Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia Adel Al Ali (left, foreground) and Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer (right, foreground) prepare to sign an order covering 120 A320neos. (Photo: Airbus)
Air Arabia Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia Adel Al Ali (left, foreground) and Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer (right, foreground) prepare to sign an order covering 120 A320neos. (Photo: Airbus)

An order for 50 Airbus A350-900s from Emirates Airline might have proved the most intriguing show development of the day Monday if not for a deal announced a couple of hours later involving 120 A320neos for Air Arabia. The contract with the Sharjah-based low-cost carrier, encompassing 73 A320neos, 27 A321neos, and 20 A321XLRs worth $14 billion at list prices, itself came minutes before Boeing revealed what it considers a critical endorsement for the 737 Max—the conversion of options on 10 Max 8s from Turkish and German leisure airline SunExpress. That deal, worth $1.2 billion at list prices, added to a previous firm order for 32 Max 8s. Sun Express CEO Jens Bischof and Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal declined to specify plans for delivery timing.