Seattle: Boeing has decided to manufacture a large version of the B787 or Dreamliner following demand from Emirates and other Gulf carriers, a top official of the US aerospace giant said.

Mike Bair, Head of Boeing's 787 programme, said Boeing will introduce the 787-10 in late 2010 with Emirates likely to be the first Gulf customer.

"We are working with Emirates to understand what exactly and how big the plane should be and we have a pretty good understanding," he told a select group of Middle East reporters at the Boeing facilities here.

"We are in the midst of commercial discussions. From our point of view it is not a matter of whether we will go for the 787-10, it is when. And we are confident of adding Emirates and more Gulf airlines to the list of customers."

Boeing launched the 787 programme in the first half of 2004 offering the B787-8 and B787-9 versions with a capacity of up to 200 seats. But Emirates expressed interest in larger capacity of around 300 seats.

"Emirates was pretty unique in their desire for the airplane and to their credit, recognised what we could do to the 787 and as a result of that and talking to other airlines, it is obvious there's a broader market for the 787-10 and we are going to do it."

Bair confirmed Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Etihad Airways are interested in the 787-10 as are some other Middle East carriers.

Although he didn't specify the number of aircraft Emirates could order, a Boeing official told Gulf News it could range between 50 and 100.

"We are talking to many carriers in the Middle East and clearly there's interest in the airplane. We have a great opportunity to further their growth plans and airlines in the Gulf are doing a wonderful job of growing."

The exact price of the 787 was not disclosed but he said the catalogue price is the same as the B767 and the actual selling price would depend on various factors including the size of the order.

Boeing has won a total of 400 orders (actual and commitments to buy) for the 787s so far. The first flight is scheduled for summer 2007 and the first delivery is slated for summer 2008 to Japan's Al Nippon Airways.

Financing: Banks had a major role

Financial institutions have contributed significantly towards the B-787 programme in terms of not only finance but design too, a top Boeing official said.

"Banks were an important part of the whole 787 process and made some fundamental contribution to the basic design of the airplane," said Mike Bair, Head of Boeing's 787 programme.

"For the first time, we decided to go to the financial community [beyond typical leasing companies] such as CitiGroup, Credit Lyonnais, Royal Bank of Scotland and others to provide bulk of the money to finance aeroplanes and we treated them like a customer and got their inputs for the aircraft too."

Typically, Boeing finances its aircraft programmes through 20 per cent of its own money, 30 per cent lease and 50 per cent debt finance, he said.