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| Iraq |
| Iraq orders 30 Boeing 737s and 10 Canadian Aircraft |
| 2008-05-06 |
| Iraq on Monday signed two deals worth $5 billion to buy 40 planes from Boeing and 10 planes from Canada's Bombardier to upgrade Iraqi Airways' aging fleet. The deals were signed by Finance Minister Bayan Jabr in a ceremony attended by Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as U.S., British and Canadian diplomats. The first Boeing plane will be delivered in 2013, Jabr said, while the Canadian company will start delivering the planes later this year. A Boeing spokesman in Seattle, Peter Conte, said the firm order from Iraq was for 30 Boeing 737-800s worth $2.2 billion at list prices. He said Boeing and Iraq are still finalizing an additional order for 10 new 787s. "This is seen as among the first steps in re-establishing Iraq's scheduled commercial aviation operations," Conte said. Al-Maliki said the government was working to improve the country and called for investments in Iraq. "Today, the process of developing economy has started," al-Maliki said in a speech during the ceremony. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 If they are flying out of Baghdad International, not much chance of a boom - REALLY tight security. I think the Kurdish airport has its security handled by Blackwater; would not be trusting anything coming out of the Basra airport for a long while, unless they go with Blackwater as well. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2008-05-06 20:51 |
| #4 I had no idea Canada made anything but beer and petroleum, which only shows my ignorance. But if they make their airplanes as well as their beer, Iraqi Airways needn't worry about anything except people who go boom. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-05-06 19:47 |
| #3 Will they be outfitted with the latest El Al anti-missile defense technology? |
| Posted by: Menhadden Snogum6713 2008-05-06 15:17 |
| #2 Good chance for a betting pool - how many minutes apiece will these planes last in the air before one of the passengers goes kaboom? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2008-05-06 13:54 |
| #1 Didn't choose errorbus - a sign of progress. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-05-06 12:00 |