Gulf Air on Thursday announced an agreement to purchase 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with the option to buy an additional six as the airline looks to expand its global network.
Boeing said the agreement, once finalised, would bring Gulf Air's order book of the wide-body jets to 14 and support 30,000 jobs in the US.
“This agreement marks a transformative step in Gulf Air's strategic growth journey as we expand our global footprint and modernise our fleet with one of the industry's most advanced and efficient aircraft,” said Khalid Taqi, chairman of Gulf Air Group.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick valued the deal at $7 billion.
“This agreement reflects that American industry and tech are second to none. Our Made-in-America commercial aircraft are the most advanced and efficient in the world, and the world knows it,” he said in a post on X.
The announcement follows Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa's meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this week.
The agreement is part of broader investment commitments announced by Bahrain and the US on Wednesday.
Aircraft deals were also part of trade accords Mr Trump announced earlier with the UK and Vietnam.
"We're very happy to be announcing $17 billion worth of deals that are coming to the United States. And this is real,” Prince Salman said.
Gulf nations are keen to boost their trade and economic ties with the US. The latest flurry of agreements from Bahraini companies comes two months after Mr Trump's visit to the Gulf region, when Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE also announced aircraft deals.
Qatar Airways's order for 210 jets from Boeing is the largest order for 787 Dreamliners, Boeing said at the time,
Earlier on Wednesday, Gulf Air announced it would begin flights from Bahrain to New York's John F Kennedy Airport beginning in October. The airline carrier will be deploying the Boeing 787-9 jets for the long-haul flight.
Gulf Air currently flies to 60 destinations. It hopes to increase its network by 25 per cent within five years. The Manama-based carrier seeks to expand its presence in financial hubs, leisure markets and major pilgrimage centres.
The announcement mirrors that of the one announced by Mr Trump on Tuesday, when he said Indonesia has also agreed to purchase 50 Boeing jets as part of a trade deal between the two countries.
Gulf Air is also considering switching away from Rolls-Royce to General Electric to power its wide-body aircraft, Bloomberg reported.
Gulf Air chief executive Jeffrey Goh had warned that the UK engine builder must find a quick solution to its durability issues.
The carrier has had to reduce its flight frequencies and also delay or cancel some flights due to engine issues, he said.
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
DUBAI WORLD CUP CARNIVAL CARD
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections
6.30pm: Gifts Of Gold
7.05pm Final Song
7.40pm Equilateral
8.15pm Dark Of Night
8.50pm Mythical Magic
9.25pm Franz Kafka
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
More from UAE Human Development Report:
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
More from Aya Iskandarani
Tuesday results:
- Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
- UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
- Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets
Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
