Boeing, Airbus grab orders at Dubai Air Show

Boeing has announced its first major sale at the Dubai Air Show.

The Chicago-based manufacturer sold nearly $9 billion worth of 737 MAXs to India's Akasa Air. 

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Meanwhile, European plane maker Airbus reached an agreement valued over $3.3 billion to sell 28 new aircraft to Kuwait's Jazeera Airways.

The two plane manufacturers compete for orders at the annual trade show, but due to the coronavirus pandemic that triggered the industry's worst-ever crisis, what would normally be a frenzy of order activity has been more subdued.

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Boeing's deal with Akasa will see the Indian airline receive 72 MAXs. Akasa plans to start flying in the summer of 2022.

"India is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world with an unparalleled potential," Akasa CEO Vinay Dube said in a statement. "We are already witnessing a strong recovery in air travel, and we see decades of growth ahead of us."

The MAX only returned to the air in the last year after two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Airbus' biggest sale of the day included 20 single-aisle A320neos and eight A321neos, which competes directly with Boeing's 737 Max, along with an option to sell another five planes to Kuwait's low-cost, fast-growing airline.

Airbus also said it received an order of 10 narrow-body A220 jets from Nigeria's Ibom Air, a new carrier owned by the oil-rich southeast state of Akwa Ibom. Based on the plane maker's pre-pandemic price list, the deal is valued at some $810 million.

Executives declined to say how much they were paying for the planes.

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The announcements followed Airbus' other orders over the first two days of the show, with 111 new aircraft sold to the Air Lease Corporation and 255 new aircraft to Indigo Partners’ various low cost carriers. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.