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By David Shepardson and Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - Boeing Co is
expected to sell nearly 80 787 Dreamliner airplanes to two Saudi
Arabian airlines, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.
An announcement of the plan reported earlier by the Wall
Street Journal is expected as soon as Tuesday, and the list
prices for 78 planes would total nearly $37 billion. Airlines
typically get undisclosed discounts when buying airplanes.
State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) and new national
airline Riyadh Air will both be acquiring Boeing 787s, the
source said. The airlines are expected to buy a total of 78 787s
split between the two buyers and have options to buy another 43,
the source said.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman formally
announced on Sunday the creation of Riyadh Air, with industry
veteran Tony Douglas as chief executive, as the kingdom moves to
compete with regional transport and travel hubs.
Riyadh Air will serve more than 100 destinations around the
world by 2030, making use of the kingdom's location between
Asia, Africa and Europe, state news agency SPA said.
The new airline is expected to add $20 billion to Saudi
Arabia's non-oil GDP growth and create more than 200,000 jobs
both directly and indirectly, it said.
Riyadh Air is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign
wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which has more than
$600 billion in assets and is spearheading the kingdom's efforts
to diversify its economy and wean itself off oil.
In October, Saudi Arabia was in advanced negotiations to
order almost 40 A350 jets from Airbus , while Boeing was
also lobbying for a slice of the kingdom's transportation
expansion, industry sources had told Reuters.
The Saudi deal comes on the heels of a major December order
from United Airlines for 100 787 Dreamliners and 100 737
MAX jets.
Earlier this month, Reuters exclusively reported that Indian
budget carrier IndiGo is in talks with Boeing and Airbus to
purchase more than 500 aircraft, an order that had been expanded
to include widebody planes such as the 787 or Airbus A330neo.
On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it
would allow Boeing to resume deliveries of the 787 this week
that had been temporarily suspended since February.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Valerie Insinna; Editing by
Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot)
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