PARIS // Emirates Airline is set create 500 jobs with a plan to establish a multimillion-dollar engine repair facility in the emirate.
The US$120 million (Dh440.7m) facility will be constructed on a 90,000 square metre plot and will complement an existing engine overhaul facility in Dubai, the airline said.
The Emirates Group, which includes Emirates Airline and the ground services handler Dnata, already employs more than 30,000 workers, as aviation contributes an estimated 25 per cent of Dubai's GDP. The new facility will have the capability of performing 300 repairs each year for the General Electric engines fitted to the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, the airline said during the second day of the Paris Air Show yesterday.
The Middle East's booming aviation and aerospace markets have again made headlines at the world's oldest and largest airshow.
Etihad Airways signed a $360m deal with Rolls-Royce for long-term service contracts for the Trent engines on its fleet of Airbus A330 wide-bodied jets.
In Saudi Arabia, the US defence contractor Raytheon was awarded the biggest Middle East defence deal of the year with a $1.7 billion deal to upgrade the kingdom's missile defence system.
Raytheon will upgrade Saudi Arabia's Patriot air and missile defence system to the latest configuration and instal new ground-system hardware as well as provide training and support as part of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approvals.
Boeing and Airbus also announced new orders as the airline industry continued to invest in growth plans despite struggling with high oil prices and a global economy still working towards economic recovery.
On Monday, airlines and leasing firms committed to more than $26bn worth of aircraft purchases.
Yesterday, aircraft makers' order books grew further as Malaysia Airlines committed to an order of 10 additional Boeing 737-800 aircraft, in a deal worth $800m before standard industry discounts.
The US aircraft maker also logged an order for its 777 line of long-haul jets from Aeroflot of Russia. The airline will buy eight 777-300ER jetliners worth $2.3bn at list prices.
In the US, JetBlue Airways signed a letter of intent to become one of the first customers of the Airbus A320neo, which adds new fuel-efficient engines to the popular short-haul aircraft. JetBlue plans to purchase 40 of the airliners, it said yesterday.