Romania’s Blue Air is in talks to buy Boeing’s 737 Max, with an announcement possible at the Paris Air Show next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The airline is considering purchasing at least 20 planes, worth US$1.84b at list prices, and chose the Boeing narrow-body over Airbus' competing A320neo. The order could be for as many as 50 aircraft, though it’s unclear how many of those may be options. Blue Air and Boeing declined to comment. The deal would roughly double Blue Air’s fleet, which consisted of 25 older-generation 737s as of the end of last year. The expansion would bolster the carrier’s competitiveness with the likes of Wizz Air, as well as with Ryanair and rival EasyJet, which have all been adding routes in central Europe. <br/>
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Boeing is closing in on about US$5b in orders from 2 Asian carriers for its longest-ever 737, people familiar with the matter said. The planemaker is discussing a deal with SpiceJet for about 20 of the 737 Max 10 aircraft, said the people. Lion Mentari Airlines is studying an order for at least 20 planes and perhaps as many as 50 from a combination of commitments and conversions of existing orders for smaller 737 Max jets, the people said. The deals may be announced as early as next week, when Boeing is likely to unveil plans for the Max 10 at the Paris Air Show. Negotiations haven’t been finalised, and agreements involving Boeing, SpiceJet and Lion could be delayed or fall apart, the people said. The 737 Max 10 is expected to sell for a little more than the shorter Max 9, which has a list price of $119.2m before discounts. <br/>
Flydubai plans to increase its presence in Africa to 12 destinations, following a 3.5% boost in passengers traveling between the UAE and Africa in 2016 compared to 2015. Beginning Oct 29, the carrier will launch 6X-weekly Dubai-Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) service, which will become flydubai’s third point in Tanzania, along with Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. In addition, direct flights from Dubai to Zanzibar will rise from 3X- to 8X-weekly. “With the addition of the service to Kilimanjaro and more direct flights to Zanzibar, flydubai will operate 14 flights a week, marking a 133% increase in capacity in the market [Tanzania] compared to the previous year,” CE Ghaith Al Ghaith said. The company said it remains committed to opening up underserved markets (like Tanzania). <br/>