Low cost carrier Flydubai has announced a commitment to order 225 Boeing 737 Max aircraft worth $27bn at the Dubai Airshow.
The order includes 175 jets and purchase options for 50 more and is the third placed by the airline with Boeing in its eight-year history.
More than 50 of the new planes will be 737 MAX 10s, the largest member of the 737 line with the balance made up of MAX 8 and 9s.
Flydubai currently has a fleet of Boeing 737-800s and 737 Max 8 aircraft, with a further 70 due for delivery by 2023 following an order for 75 MAXs and 11 737-800s made at the 2013 Dubai Airshow.
After today’s announcement it has a total of 320 aircraft on order.
The airline’s chairman HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said it would receive the first planes from 2019 and use them to continue to expand its route network from 97 destinations at present.
The deal steals some of the thunder of Boeing’s rival Airbus, which just announced the largest order by volume in its history at the Dubai Airshow.
The deal for 430 A320neos from US aviation investor Bill Franke’s Indigo Partners more than doubles Airbus’ previous order book for the year.
The two government-owned airlines are working more closely together than ever before as part of efforts to boost synergies and cut costs.
Boeing has more than 4,000 orders from 92 customers for the 737 MAX family compared to 5,200 orders from 95 customers for the Airbus A320neo family.
