Arkia Airlines negotiating to buy 4 Boeing 787

Israeli air carrier Arkia Airlines Ltd announced last week it was in talks with The Boeing Company to buy four Boeing 787 aircraft for $280 million.
 
It is understood that under the proposed agreement, Arkia Airlines will initially buy two aircraft and will hold an option to buy two more.
 
Avi Nakash, Arkia owner, said in a press release that the acquisition of the 787 Dreamliner, represented an important stage in Arkia's long time strategy to become the leader in Israel’s aviation market and integrate into the global market.
 
The Boeing 787, or Dreamliner, is a mid-sized wide body passenger airliner currently under development by Boeing Commercial Airplane and scheduled to enter service in 2008. It will carry between 200 and 350 passengers depending on the seating configuration, and will be morefuel efficient fuel-efficient than comparable earlier airliners. It will also be the first major airliner to use composite material for most of its construction.
 
The aircraft is designed for long-distance flights to destinations as the US East coast, Japan, South America and others. It is also considered economical for use on medium-distance routes in Europe, Africa and West Asia.
 
Deliveries to Arkia are expected to begin in 2012, but Boeing said it would make every effort to bring delivery forward.
 
The announcement also said that Arkia will continue, in the meantime, to expand its destination range in 2007 and will acquire a fleet of wide-bodied aircraft under a leasing agreement for this purpose.