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- Nagelsmann lauds 'supercharged' Germany's 'best half of the year'
- 'Pandas are coming': Two new bears depart China for US capital
- Dodgers pitcher Kershaw plans to return for 2025
- Mbappe 'investigated for rape' in Sweden: report
- Revived Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- Trudeau slams India as tensions soar over Sikh separatist's murder
- Harris courts Black voters as Trump makes inroads
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Nigerian team return home after boycotting AFCON qualifier in Libya
- Nigeria refuse to play in Libya as Algeria, Cameroon qualify
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
- New lawsuits against Sean Combs allege sex assault, including of minor
- Italy begins migrant transfers to Albania with first group of 16
- Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos
- Carsley open to foreign England manager amid Guardiola links
- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
- Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
Emirates, flydubai among Boeing's big customers at Dubai Airshow
Emirates announced a bumper order of 95 planes and flydubai snapped up 30 wide-bodied aircraft as US manufacturer Boeing did brisk business on day one of the Dubai Airshow on Monday.
Dubai-based Emirates, the Middle East's biggest airline, made the largest purchase with its $52 billion order for 55 Boeing 777-9s, 35 777-8s and five 787 Dreamliners.
"This order represents a significant investment that demonstrates Dubai's commitment to the future of aviation," Emirates' chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum told a press conference.
The 777-9s are expected for delivery in 2025 and the 777-8s are scheduled for 2030.
Separately, budget carrier flydubai, owned by the Dubai government, ordered 30 Boeing 787-9s valued at 231 billion dirhams ($63 billion) -- its first wide-bodied, or large-capacity, planes as it looks to expand to new routes.
The biennial show, featuring commercial as well as military planes and weaponry, is taking place against the backdrop of severe regional tensions due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, sparked by the October 7 attack by Hamas militants.
An exhibit by Israel Aerospace Industries was roped off and vacant on day one, and there was no response to requests to the company for information.
A section designated for SIBAT, an arm of the Israeli defence ministry, was being used as a coffee shop. The company also did not respond to an inquiry from AFP.
But the main focus at the show was the aircraft purchases -- mainly booked by Boeing -- that underlined the industry's post-pandemic recovery and bullishness about the future.
Turkish-German budget carrier SunExpress signed a firm order for 45 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at a list price of more than $5 billion, though large orders normally come at a discount.
SunExpress's order for 28 737-8s and 17 737-10s includes options that could extend to 90 aircraft, potentially more than doubling its fleet of 66.
"It's the largest order in the history of SunExpress," Max Kownatzki, chief executive of the low-cost joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, said at the signing ceremony.
- Record profits -
Latvia's airBaltic said it was buying 30 A220-300 planes from Airbus, Boeing's European rival, with purchase rights for another 20. It said it intends to operate 100 of the planes by 2030.
Rumours of a major order by Turkish Airlines, said to be for about 350 aircraft, did not materialise on the first day, and there were no purchases by Saudi airlines.
Newcomer Riyadh Air, which hopes to compete with Emirates as a leading regional carrier, will make a new order for narrow-body jets in the "coming weeks", its CEO Tony Douglas told The National newspaper.
In other deals, Royal Jordanian ordered four Boeing 787 Dreamliners, raising their 787-9 fleet to six, and EgyptAir announced a lease agreement for 18 737 MAX.
With Emirates' latest deal, the Dubai carrier's order book rises to 295 planes, including 205 777X aircraft. The airline also ordered 202 GE9X engines to power its 777X fleet.
French technology group Thales said it had signed a contract to provide in-flight entertainment systems for the 777Xs.
Demonstrating its recovery, last week Emirates Group announced record half-year net profits of 10.1 billion AED ($2.7 billion), up 138 percent from a year earlier.
Emirates posted a $5.5 billion loss in Covid-ravaged 2020-2021, its first in more than three decades, after grounding its fleet and making heavy lay-offs.
Its losses shrank to $1.1 billion in 2021-2022. This week is the first edition of the Dubai Airshow since Emirates returned to profitability.
D.Kaufman--AMWN