By Tim Hepher and Federico Maccioni
PARIS/DUBAI, July 8 (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is nearing a deal to order 10 Boeing 787 wide-body jets, with an announcement expected as early as this month’s Farnborough Airshow, industry sources said on Wednesday.
Etihad and Boeing declined comment.
The sources cautioned that a deal could not be guaranteed as negotiations continue in the run-up to the July 20-24 event in Britain.
Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves told Reuters last month that the airline was considering ordering a double-digit number of wide-body planes, declining to specify further.
Etihad is restoring flights after making cuts in March as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran raised fuel prices.
Europe’s Airbus said earlier that Middle East airlines were recovering strongly amid the region’s fragile ceasefire, with Gulf hubs returning toward normal traffic volumes.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Federico Maccioni;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Deepa Babington)
