San Francisco, United States — US aviation giant Boeing on Thursday signed a contract worth billions of dollars to sell 12 787 Dreamliners, with options for six more, to Gulf Air, as the Bahrain-based carrier looks to expand its global network.
The order comes one month after an Air India Boeing 787 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing a total of 260 people on the plane and on the ground.
“Once finalized, this order will bring the carrier’s firm order book to 14 of the versatile wide-body jets and will support 30,000 jobs across the US,” the companies said in a joint statement.
The official Bahrain News Agency said the kingdom’s national carrier had signed a $4.6 billion agreement for 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The US Commerce Department put the value of the 18 planes at $7 billion.
The deal “marks a transformative step in Gulf Air’s strategic growth journey as we expand our global footprint and modernize our fleet with one of the industry’s most advanced and efficient aircraft,” said Gulf Air Group chairman Khalid Taqi.
“The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has proven to be an exceptional aircraft for our long-haul operations, and this new order reflects our confidence in its performance, passenger appeal and contribution to our sustainability goals.”
Boeing delivered 150 commercial aircraft in the second quarter, its highest number of deliveries in that quarter since 2018.
That was just before two 737 MAX crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 — which killed 346 people — plunged the company into crisis.
The Air India jet bound for London crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12. A preliminary investigation report revealed that fuel control switches were switched off shortly after takeoff.
Boeing has not been asked to take any action as the probe continues.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a trade pact with Indonesia that limits tariffs on Indonesian products at 19 percent, and said the deal features a pledge from the country to buy 50 Boeing jets, “many of them 777s.”
