Dubai Aerospace in talks to place huge order for 400 jets

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise is in talks to buy a near-record total of 400 jetliners from Airbus and Boeing, its CEO said, in a $40b blowout that would match the order pipeline of rivals. The move comes months after a leading US airline investor orchestrated a record deal involving more than 400 planes from Airbus as economists project strong growth for air travel, led by the continued expansion of budget carriers. Airbus and Boeing have sold thousands of the latest versions of their workhorse single-aisle jets in recent years, but the order cycle is slowing down. However, the boom has left long waiting times for jets for remaining potential buyers like DAE. The government-controlled Dubai firm is interested in buying single-aisle Airbus A320neo-family and Boeing 737 MAX planes after its acquisition last year of Dublin-based lessor AWAS, CE Firoz Tarapore said Thursday. Any deal would not necessarily be evenly split between the two planemakers, Tarapore said, adding DAE was “nowhere near where we thought we would be” in finalising an order. “We are not happy with the price,” he said.<br/>