Emirates airline COO says gets 787, A350 improvements as mulls big order

[March 11, 2015] DUBAI (Reuters) - Emirates airline's chief operating officer said on Wednesday that both Boeing and Airbus had made improvements to its respective 787 and A350 aircraft in response to requests from the Dubai-based carrier.

Among the improvements were increased range, better interiors and reduced weight, Adel al-Redha told reporters on the sidelines of a border security conference.

Emirates is looking at an order for around 50 to 70 twin-aisle 787 or A350 aircraft, its president said last week, after cancelling an order for 70 A350 aircraft last year, saying the new plane from Airbus did not fit its original specifications.

Redha also expects fuel to constitute between 30 percent and 37 percent of the airline's total costs in the financial year which ends later this month, down from 42 percent in the previous 12 months.

(Reporting by Nadia Saleem; Writing by David French; Editing by Louise Heavens)

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