MIAMI: Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), will sign a contract to order four Boeing 787 Dreamliners, joining a fleet of 27 other aircraft, composed of Airbus A319, A320 and A340-500, Boeing 757-200 and 767-300, and Embraer ERJ170-100LR and ERJ 190-100 aircraft.
“We are proud that Azerbaijan is buying six new airplanes from Boeing,” said Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the United States. “This marks the latest investment by our country in American-made products, the American economy and in American workers.”
In 2015, the Baku-based carrier received their first Dreamliner at Boeing’s Charleston, South Carolina facility. Nowadays, AZAL has two Boeing 787-8s in service.
During this year’s Paris Air Show (PAS), AZAL announced the commitment to purchase four 787-8 Dreamliners. The value of the order was $918 million, considered the country’s fourth major Boeing purchase since 2015.
Azerbaijan Airlines plans to use these Boeing 787s to expand its long-haul operations. It is likely that these new aircraft will replace their two Airbus A340-500s.
The airline currently flies to 122 destinations in more than 40 countries. Azerbaijan Airlines and Silk Way Airlines operate direct passenger and cargo flights between Baku, New York, and Chicago.
Similarly, Silk Way Airlines, the primarily cargo carrier that’s also based in Baku, plans to purchase two Boeing 747-8 Freighters. This order comes in after the airline purchased 10 737-MAX 8 in April. Suleymanov expects that the aircraft for both carriers will be delivered in 2018.
Suleymanov stated that the orders of their two largest airlines are “contributing to the U.S. economy and job growth,” considering AZAL is not the only airline from Azerbaijan that’s making an order for Boeing aircraft
