Iraqi Airways is poised to purchase almost 50 aircraft, including 10 long-haul Boeing 787 Dreamliners or 777s, in a series of deals worth up to $6bn.

Iraq’s national carrier is in the final stages of negotiation with US manufacturer Boeing and Canada’s Bombardier, and will unveil deals to purchase a full fleet of short to long-range aircraft before the end of February.

Delivery of the short-haul aircraft will commence this summer, with the airline receiving its first long-haul planes between 2012 and 2014.

Iraqi Airways will make three separate purchases, with sources setting the total cost of the deal at $5-6bn at list prices, to be funded by the central government. The company will buy six Bombardier short-haul planes, and sign two agreements with Boeing for a total of 40 aircraft and options on further planes.

The first of these will be for second-hand, medium-range jets, and the second for newly manufactured, long-haul aircraft.

“About 25 per cent of the order will be for long-haul planes, so this means about 10 Dreamliners or 777s,” says a source close to the negotiations.

Marty Bentrott, senior vice-president for Boeing’s Middle East and African commercial aircraft sales, confirms that Iraqi Airways is in discussion for a package of aircraft covering the “full spectrum” of the manufacturer’s planes, including the Dreamliner.

Iraqi government officials say Baghdad wants to open long-haul routes to European cities with large expatriate Iraqi populations, particularly London and Frankfurt. The firm will first build a domestic network before expanding around the Middle East. Long-haul international destinations will be added to its network with the arrival of the Boeings.

“The reason for this multi-tiered purchase is to enable the airline to expand sensibly,” says Michael McCormick, transport attache at the US embassy in Baghdad, and policy adviser to the Transport Ministry. “First the aim is to get more people flying within Iraq, and this goes hand-in-hand with the improvements to the airport infrastructure.”

“The company can then build a regional network, and plan towards adding long-haul international destinations by the time the long-haul planes are delivered.”

The deals will herald a remarkable turnaround for the airline, one of the oldest in the region. The company’s current fleet consists of six aircraft, only three of which it owns outright.

Efforts to acquire new planes in recent months have failed because of the slow bureaucratic process in Baghdad, with available aircraft on the market snapped up before the government can approve the purchase (MEED 21:12:07).

“There has been a concerted effort this time to speed up the process although it is still slower than you would like,” says McCormick. “The Transport Ministry has been working closely with the Finance Ministry.”

McCormick adds that the privatisation of Iraqi Airways, expected to get under way this year, remains at a preliminary stage.