Emirates Airline signed a contract for 10 Boeing 747-8F’s, and announced purchase rights for a further 10 747-8F’s. The combined value of these 20 aircraft is worth an estimated US$5.6 billion at list prices. The contract for the 10 Boeing 747-8F’s formalises the airline’s order, announced at the Farnborough Air Show earlier this year.

The contract was signed in Dubai by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, and Ken Schultz, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Sales Director.

Sheikh Ahmed said, “Our order for the 747-8F’s will be essential in helping us service our rapidly growing network of 28 freighter destinations which include exclusive freighter services in Bangalore, Lilongwe, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, and Taipei. Our cargo operations currently also serve Emirates’ 85 destinations as belly-hold space in our scheduled passenger services.”

The 747-8F’s will effectively meet Emirates SkyCargo’s increasing requirement for additional capacity and operational flexibility.

The firm order of 10 aircraft is valued at approximately $2.8 billion at list prices and is scheduled for first delivery in 2010.

The carrier currently operates nine wide-bodied Boeing 747Fs and Airbus A310Fs, and also has on order eight 777Fs.

Dubai-based Emirates is one of the world’s most successful and profitable international airlines.

It currently operates a fleet of 98 wide-bodied aircraft to 85 destinations around the globe. Emirates flies between Malta and Dubai five times weekly via Larnaca, Cyprus. The Airbus A330-200 used on the Malta route has a freight capacity of 13 tons each way. Emirates SkyCargo is represented in Malta by Cassar & Cooper Limited and enquiries can be made at Air Cargo House, Ganni Vassallo Street, Luqa, on telephone number 21 660102, or at skycargomla @emirates.com.