08 February 2005
Libya's only private airline, Buraq Air, has reached a preliminary agreement with Boeing to acquire six planes, and plans to open nine routes to Europe and the Middle East, its chairman said on Monday.
"Following this agreement with Boeing ... Buraq will inaugurate four flights to Europe and five to the Middle East, as part of a drive to expand the airline's activity," Chairman and CEO Mohammed Boubeida said. He gave no dates.
He confirmed that Buraq had reached an agreement with Boeing to buy six 737-800 planes, three of which are to be delivered by mid-2006.
"The agreement is worth $366 million," he said.
Libya's move follows a spate of buying by airline carriers in the Middle East. Last month Dubai's state carrier Emirates made airline history by ordering the largest order of the new Airbus jumbo passenger plane A380 and other jets as part of a $19 billion order. The Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines last year upgraded its fleet by purchasing six new planes and leased three airplanes.
Boubeida said Buraq currently had 13 planes, six owned by the airline and seven on lease, running domestic flights only.
He said the airline, whose 500 shareholders include three local banks, intended to become the main competitor of state-run Libyan Arab Airlines.
Officials from the Libyan flag carrier, which still dominates the Libyan market, said in October the company planned to buy 24 aircraft worth $1.5 billion to renew its fleet.
Libyan officials expect a boom in air traffic now that the oil-rich country has improved its relations with the West and the U.S. has lifted most of its sanctions on Tripoli, including a ban on U.S. citizens travelling to Libya.
