Boeing (BA) has landed a big deal with Saudi Arabia.
As Yahoo Finance first reported Tuesday, the aerospace giant has secured an order for up to 121 787s from two Saudi Arabian airlines — state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines and new national player Riyadh Air. A total of 78 planes are considered firm orders, while 43 are options to purchase more.
Of the 121 orders, 72 are from Riyadh Air.
Based on the list price for the 787 of about $338 million, the deal could be worth up to an estimated $40 billion.
"It is significant," Boeing CEO David Calhoun told Yahoo Finance.
Boeing shares rose around 2% in early trading. Shares are up 7% year to date, out-performing the S&P 500's 0.4% advance.
Riyadh Air was formally announced a week ago by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an effort to compete with regional transport and other international travel hubs.
Financial backing for Riyadh Air will come from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (better known as PIF), which has made a name for backing startups ranging from LIV Golf to EV maker Lucid.
Riyadh Air is expected to serve more than 100 destinations worldwide by 2030.
Tony Douglas — who left Etihad Airways as CEO last October — was named at Riyadh Air's first CEO.
"This order for us today [from Boeing] is the kind of first major milestone that shows to everybody the scale of ambition that we've got," Douglas told Yahoo Finance.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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