Airbus celebrated a significant victory over Boeing yesterday when the Dubai-based Emirates Airline gave the European group the largest-ever single-aircraft order.

Emirates chose the Airbus A350 airliner over Boeing’s rival 787 in a purchase worth as much as $35 billion (£16.7 billion). The state-owned airline’s much-rumoured order – 70 mid-sized A350 XWB aircraft and 11 A380 super jumbos – was announced with much fanfare on the first day of Dubai’s annual air show.

Boeing was left in the shadows, despite sealing several deals of its own: a $3.2 billion order from Emirates for 12 of its 777-300s and a $6.1 billion deal with Qatar Airways for 30 787 Dreamliners and five 777 cargo aircraft.

The deal was a huge boost for Airbus, whose sales had been lagging behind Boeing this year. Now industry analysts predict that the European manufacturer will pull ahead of its American rival by the end of the year.

“There was a recognition that we have to buy sooner rather than later,” Tim Clark, Emirates’ president, said of the airline’s decision. “Boeing was not in a position to offer us the 787-10, which we wanted. Airbus had come up with a very good aeroplane at a very good price that hit the spot.”

Emirates was already Airbus’s biggest customer for the massive A380, with 55 aircraft on order.

Yesterday’s announcement highlighted the ambitions of the Gulf state to transform itself into one of the world’s leading aviation hubs and Emirates into the world’s largest long-haul carrier.

Analysts said that the airline’s rapid expansion plans hinge on the region’s economic success, with more tourists filling its fleet to capacity. Dubai is also building a new airport to handle a potential 150 million passengers a year, more than twice the capacity of Heathrow.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, Emirates’ chairman, said that the recent aircraft purchases would help Dubai to meet its goal of doubling tourists to 15 million visitors a year by 2015. At present, the airline serves 94 destinations in 60 countries, although it plans to increase that number.

“The A350 XWB and A380 [super jumbos] will play an important role in supporting Emirates’ and Dubai’s growth plans,” he said. “As the leading airline for the 21st century, it made sense for Emirates to choose the A350 XWB – an aircraft designed with 21st-century technologies.”

While some observers speculated that Emirates may have overextended itself with the Airbus order, Mr Clark downplayed the effect on the airline’s overall capacity.

Emirates will retire 56 to 58 aircraft from its existing fleet as it incorporates planes from the new order, which are not scheduled for delivery until 2014. The fleet’s capacity will increase by only 15 per cent, according to Mr Clark, slightly below its current rate of expansion of 20 per cent a year. “In terms of capacity, it’s no big deal for us,” he said. “Overall, we’re a tad up, but not much.”

Robert Ziegler, a Dubai-based aero-space analyst, said: “They [Emirates] are building the highest-capacity network in the world. No other airline has ever tried anything like that before. Everybody is asking the question: what on earth are they going to do with so many planes? And more importantly: will it work?”

High-flying deals

— Rolls-Royce announced it would supply engines for the A350s in a deal that could be worth $8.4 billon if Emirates Airline confirms all its options.

— Sikorsky, part of United Technologies Corporation, is linked to a deal to supply 40 helicopters to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of the Interior.

— Brazil’s Embraer confirmed orders for 10 aircraft from Virgin Nigeria and for 19 business jets from Globalia of Spain and Falcon Aviation.

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