Emirates eyes fleet of 235 aircraft by 2017

Emirates plans to grow its fleet to 235 aircraft by 2017 (Gulf Times/Dow Jones Newswires, 24-May-2011). The airline has 21 aircraft due for delivery in FY2012 and 172 on firm order thereafter, according to the company's preliminary prospectus for a planned dollar-denominated bond sale, the proceeds of which will be used to fund the aircraft deliveries and general corporate purposes. The deliveries will take the airline's fleet to 235 aircraft by 2017 from the current 155, after accounting for aircraft retirements. Emirates has mandated Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD, HSBC Holdings and Morgan Stanley as lead managers on the new planned bond issue. The notes are likely to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.