SAN FRANCISCO­– U.S. aerospace giant Boeing said last week that it has concluded a deal to sell 175 737 MAX airplanes to a low-cost airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the largest single-aisle jet order in Middle East history.

Boeing said in a statement that its agreement with the UAE’s budget carrier Flydubai includes options for the latter to buy an additional 50 aircraft at a cost of 27 billion U.S. dollars at current list prices.

"We are excited to finalize this landmark agreement with our partners at Flydubai and we thank them for placing their trust in the 737 MAX family,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing said Flydubai, an operator with a fleet of all-Boeing jets, first ordered the 737 MAX in 2013 with a purchase of 75 jets, and it has delivered to Flydubai five MAX airplanes from that order.

The UAE’s Flydubai, established in July 2008, is one of the first operators of the 737 MAX 8, and "their order for more models -- including the recently launched MAX 10 -- is a vote of confidence in the MAX family’s exceptional fuel efficiency, reliability and flexibility,” Mounir said.

Boeing said the 737 MAX has racked up 640 net orders this year, which pushed the total MAX orders to more than 4,200 since the program launched, making the MAX the best-selling airplane in the history of the U.S. aircraft manufacturer based in Seattle on the U.S. west coast.

The single-aisle MAX family of airplanes offers seating for about 130 to just over 200 passengers with a distance range between 3,200 to 3,800 nautical miles (about 5,927 to 7,038 km).

Flydubai operates flights to a total of 95 destinations covering the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. It is headquartered in Dubai, the largest and most populous city in the UAE.

Xinhua