flydubai 737 MAX 8 delivery
Flydubai’s first 737 MAX 8 takes off from Boeing’s Seattle delivery center in July. (Boeing Photo)

There’s nothing like an international air show to bring out the multibillion-dollar sales, and the 2017 Dubai Airshow is setting a new standard.

Boeing’s big deal of the day was an agreement with flydubai, the hometown airline, for the purchase of up to 225 more 737 MAX jets for a list-price value of $27 billion. More than 50 of the first 175 planes will be 737 MAX 10s, the newest and largest variant in the MAX family.

“We are extremely honored that flydubai has selected to be an all-Boeing operator for many years to come,” Kevin McAllister, Boeing Commercial Airlines’ president and CEO, said today in a news release. Flydubai has already taken delivery of 63 737-800s and three 737 MAX 8 airplanes under the terms of previous deals.

Not to be outdone, Airbus announced a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of 430 airplanes in its A320neo family, valued at $49.5 billion at list prices.

The deal was struck with Phoenix-based Indigo Partners, a private equity firm that owns Denver-based Frontier Airlines and also backs Mexico’s Volaris airline, Hungary’s Wizz Air and Chile’s JetSmart.

Indigo will distribute the 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos among the four ultra-low-cost airlines, with Wizz getting the largest share. If the deal translates into firm orders, it would represent Airbus’ biggest sale to a single buyer as measured by the number of airplanes, according to CNN.

With the Dubai show winding down, Airbus’ mega-sale made up for its disappointment earlier this week when a big sale of A380 jets to Emirates Airline failed to come together. Emirates announced a $15.1 billion deal for Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners instead.

Airbus sales chief John Leahy, who is expected to retire at the end of the year, joked about that turn of events when today’s sale was announced.

“Just to clarify: This is not an A380 press conference,” The Associated Press quoted Leahy as saying.

Leeham News and Comment said the two sales added up to a “historic day for commercial aviation.”

Boeing and AerCap, a Dublin-based aviation leasing company, also announced today that EgyptAir would lease six 787-9 Dreamliners. “We look forward to the 787 becoming an integral part of EgyptAir’s fleet as we progress our modernization and network expansion plans,” Safwat Musallam, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Co., said in a news release.

The Dubai Airshow wraps up on Thursday.

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