Emirates, the world's largest long-haul airline, has placed a $38 billion order for an additional 65 Boeing 777-9 aircraft, giving the US plane maker a much-needed boost shortly after the plane's debut was further postponed to 2027.

It also ordered 130 of GE Aerospace's GE9X engines that power the twin-engined planes, Emirates said on the first day of the Dubai Airshow on Monday.

“This is a massive long-term commitment to US aerospace manufacturing, generating support for hundreds of thousands of high value manufacturing jobs in the US over the life of the programmes,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline group, said at a press conference during the show taking place in Dubai World Central.

When asked how Boeing managed to convince Emirates to buy more of the long-delayed 777X models, Brad McMullen, the company's senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, told the The National: “I don’t think there was any convincing that needed to be done, frankly. They’ve committed to the 777-9. Their future depends on it. Our future depends on Emirates. When two parties depend on each other, you can normally find a way to do more business.”

Meanwhile, the Emirates boss also said the airline has the option to convert the order to the 777-10, a larger variant that’s still under development.

“We fully support Boeing’s feasibility study to develop the 777-10 and have options to convert our latest 777-