Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance Company (Alafco) agreed to sell eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with a list price of $1.6 billion, to Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), Alafco said on Wednesday. Alafco shares jumped 5.6 percent, while the Kuwait stock market was down 0.6 percent at 0837 GMT. The company said in a statement the aircraft would be delivered between 2014 and 2015. Alafco also said it would lease out four Boeings for 12 years to the Saudi carrier with delivery expected in 2012. The list value of one plane is $200 million, while the leasing price is 1 percent of the purchase price paid as a monthly rent, Alafco said in the statement posted on the bourse website. Alafco said earlier this month it agreed with Saudia to lease five new single-aisle Airbus A320s for next year's delivery, as part of the Saudi carrier's fleet renewal program. The Gulf aviation industry is booming as surging economies spurred by record oil prices attract tourists.
