dubai $18 billion Boeing order

Emirates airline placed a blockbuster order for 50 Boeing 777 jetliners at the Dubai Air Show on Sunday, underscoring the confidence brimming among fast-growing Gulf airlines despite growing fears of stalling global growth.

The Dubai government-owned carrier, expanding its role as the world's largest operator of Boeing's most profitable plane, said the deal was worth $18 billion, the largest commercial order by value in the U.S. planemaker's history.

Reuters reported on Friday that Emirates, which has led efforts by Gulf-based carriers to challenge European and Asian carriers by establishing the region as a major East-West hub, would place an order of between 30 and 50 Boeing 777 aircraft.

"This order represents a milestone -- it is the single largest dollar value (order) in the Boeing history," Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum said at a press conference, before signing the deal with Boeing representatives as Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, looked on.