MANAMA, 14 January 2008 — Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air and US planemaker Boeing Co. have signed a $6 billion agreement for the delivery of 24 Dreamliner aircraft to begin in 2016.

“Gulf Air has signed with Boeing a firm order for 16 Boeing 787 aircraft and taken the right to purchase eight more of the same aircraft,” said the airline’s acting head of corporate communication Adnan Malek.

“There were also negotiations with Airbus and we rated all the factors and looked at all contingencies, including fuel burn and maintenance costs, and in the end we chose Boeing,” he added.

Mahmood Al-Kooheji, chairman of Gulf Air’s board, said banks had partially financed the deal, declining to give more details.

Gulf Air and the US planemaker concluded the deal during a visit by US President George W Bush to the island.

The Dreamliner is Boeing’s most successful new airplane program in terms of sales with more than 800 orders valued at more than $120 billion.

It ranked second in commercial orders last year behind the 737 narrow-body model.

The carrier had announced during the Dubai Air Show that it was planning to renew its entire fleet looking to order up to 35 planes.

Gulf Air’s newly-appointed chief executive Bjorn Naf said during the show that the company was holding intensive talks with Boeing and its European rival Airbus, but he did not rule out leasing some aircraft.

The airline aims to build up a fleet of 45 to 50 aircraft by 2013, compared to 25 ageing planes now, he said.

Boeing set a third straight annual record with 1,413 commercial jet orders in 2006, driven by demand from Asian and Middle Eastern airlines.

The 737 narrow-body model had 846 orders followed by the 787 Dreamliner with 369 orders, according to the Chicago-based company’s website.

The Dreamliner will use 20 percent less fuel for comparable missions than today’s similar mid-sized airplanes, Boeing said on its website. It also will travel at speeds equal to the fastest wide-body aircraft and provide airlines with more cargo-revenue capacity.

Boeing shares fell $1.84, or 2 percent, to $80.52 on Jan. 11 in New York Stock Exchange trading. The shares have fallen almost 9 percent in the past year.

Founded in 1974, Gulf Air was owned equally by the governments of Bahrain and Oman until the latter announced in May it was withdrawing from the airline. Qatar and Abu Dhabi withdrew in 2002 and 2005 respectively.

The airline announced in March that its projected debt at the end of 2007 would be $676 million.