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Emirates president pledges to keep buying jets

Emirates airline’s appetite for aircraft purchases will not cease, the airline’s president Tim Clark told AFP on Monday a day after the Dubai-based carrier ordered 200 planes from Boeing and Airbus.

By (AFP)

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Published: Tue 19 Nov 2013, 10:50 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2015, 4:21 AM

The Middle East’s largest airline keeps expanding to meet the ambitions of Dubai which aspires to cement its status as a major travel hub, he said.

“I don’t think Emirates is going to stop with this order,” he said, referring to purchases announced at Dubai Airshow on Sunday.

“The intention of the government of Dubai is to build the new airfield here on this site” at Al Maktoum International Airport, which opened for passenger operations last month.

Dubai has in the past announced ambitions to turn Al Maktoum into the world’s largest aviation hub once completed, with five runways and a capacity to handle 160 million passengers annually.

“They’re hoping to get that in the state of readiness for 2020-22, and the scale of that will allow us to grow our fleet further,” said Clark.

“When we have more firm time lines on that, we will be revisiting our fleet plans and routes structures.”

But he said the fast-expanding carrier would continue to operate at one of Dubai’s airports, not both.

Dubai International is already one of the world’s busiest hubs for international travel, handling nearly 58 million passengers last year.

Clark said the carrier’s commitment to buy 150 Boeing aircraft would be finalised before the end of 2013.