ACU May 3rd DRAFT

AIRLINES
Qatar Airways & Boeing seal deal
for US$11.7 billion new planes
WASHINGTON: Qatar Airways and
Boeing jointly announced the airline's
purchase of 30 787-9 Dreamliners and
10 777-300ERs, valued at $11.7 billion
at list prices, validating the value,
reliability and performance of the USbased
aerospace manufacturer's twinaisle
airplanes.
The airline also signed a Letter of
Intent for up to 60 737 MAX 8s, valued
at $6.9 billion at list prices.
The new purchases build on Qatar
Airways' current fleet of 84 Boeing
aircraft, a combination of 787s and
777s, all delivered over the last nine
years. With this new order, the airline
increases its firm order backlog of
Boeing widebody airplanes from 65 to
105, including 60 777Xs.
“Qatar Airways, already one of the
fastest growing airlines in the
history of aviation, announces
a significant and historic
aircraft order that will power
our future growth for the
years and the decades ahead,”
said Qatar Airways Group
Chief Executive Akbar Al
Baker.
Qatar Airways' relationship with
Boeing was renewed in 2006. Since
t h e n , t h e re h a v e b e e n m a n y
milestones in the partnership. The
airline was the first to operate the 787
in the Middle East and is a launch
customer for the 777X. With the
commitment for the 737 MAX 8, it
would be the first Boeing single-aisle
airplane model to join Qatar Airways'
fleet in more than 15 years.
“We are so very proud that a
discerning and market-leading
customer like Qatar Airways not only
continues to endorse our current
products, but also has confidence in
Boeing's new technology that will soon
be evident on the 777X & 737 MAX,”
said Boeing Commercial Airplanes
President & CEO Ray Conner.
Luxair Group supports Red Cross and its different projects
LUXEMBOURG: For
the 10th edition of
the Mois du Don,
Luxair cabin crew
have once again
teamed up with the
Luxembourg Croix-
Rouge to fundraise
on-board Luxair
flights throughout
April. LuxairGroup
will double the
donations collected
to mark this strong
action and help its
long-standing
partner to conduct
different social and
humanitarian
projects
SriLankan Airlines
focuses on growing
more MidEast market
DUBAI: SriLankan Airlines says
about 23 percent of its
passengers come from the
Middle East and it wants to
further strengthen its presence
in the region through its
diverse nature adventure
offerings.
The national carrier of Sri
Lanka and a member of the
oneworld airline alliance,
SriLankan Airlines once again
participated at the recently
concluded Arabian Travel
Market (ATM) in Dubai.
Middle Eastern business and
leisure travellers to Sri Lanka
either make a vacation trip to
enjoy some of the country's
many-splendored delights, or
to make deals in Colombo or
other Asian or Australian
destinations. The tie-up with
the oneworld alliance has
further enhanced traffic flows
to the airline from their
partners, making Colombo a
growing transport hub.
“We regard Arabian Travel
Market as an important stage
to reach the travel industry
professionals in the Middle
East, which is one of our most
important source
destinations,” said Dimuthu
Tennakoon, Head of
Worldwide Sales and
Distribution, SriLankan
Airlines.
Responding to growing
demand from the region,
SriLankan Airlines has recently
boosted its services with daily
flights to Colombo from
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha,
Riyadh, Muscat, Bahrain and
Kuwait to 68 flights a week.
The airline is also looking at
increasing connectivity to
other parts of the Gulf
depending on demand.