Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Gulf Air, Bahrain's loss-making national carrier, and Boeing Co. signed a $6 billion agreement for the delivery of 24 Dreamliner aircraft to begin in 2016, airline spokesman Adnan Malik said.

The deal includes a firm order for 16 787-8 planes worth $3.4 billion and options for another eight, Malik said by phone from Bahrain. The carrier is also considering alternatives from Boeing, the world's second-largest commercial planemaker, and Airbus SAS to fly short-haul routes and could order a total of 45 new planes including today's order, he said.

The Dreamliner is Boeing's most successful new airplane program in terms of sales with more than 800 orders valued at more than $120 billion. It ranked second in commercial orders last year behind the 737 narrow-body model.

Persian Gulf carriers including Dubai's Emirates, Abu Dhabi's Etihad and Qatar Airways are among the biggest customers for Airbus and Boeing as the airlines build the region into a hub for tourism and transit flights between Europe, Asia and Africa. Middle Eastern carriers posted orders and options worth about $85 billion with Airbus and Boeing at the Dubai Air Show in a bid to meet surging travel demand.

The agreement was signed on the eve of a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush to the Persian Gulf island, home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

30 Planes

Gulf Air, which has 30 planes to service 26 destinations, may hold an initial public offering in 2008, Chairman Mahmood al Kooheji said at the Dubai Air Show in November. It has reduced losses by 30 percent in recent weeks and is now losing $600,000 a day compared with $1 million earlier. The airline expects to break even in 2009, Malik said.

In July, the carrier said its Chief Executive Officer Andre Dose will resign after less than four months in the job without saying why. Dose, a former chief executive of Swiss International Air Lines Ltd., took the job about nine months after his predecessor James Hogan left to run Etihad Airways. He had trimmed the airline's fleet and cut long-haul routes in a bid to stem losses.

Aviation Lease & Finance Co., a Kuwait-based airplane leasing company, signed a preliminary agreement in September to provide three Airbus SAS A320-200s to Gulf Air. Gulf Air will start taking delivery in 2009 and lease the airlines for eight years, Alafco said in a regulatory filing.

Less Fuel, Faster Speeds

Arab airlines are expected to increase their combined fleet by almost two-thirds to 900 aircraft by 2015 from 550 planes in 2006, according to the Arab Carriers Organization.

Boeing set a third straight annual record with 1,413 commercial jet orders in 2006, driven by demand from Asian and Middle Eastern airlines. The 737 narrow-body model had 846 orders followed by the 787 Dreamliner with 369 orders, according to the Chicago-based company's Web site.

The Dreamliner will use 20 percent less fuel for comparable missions than today's similar mid-sized airplanes, Boeing said on its Web site. It also will travel at speeds equal to the fastest wide-body aircraft and provide airlines with more cargo- revenue capacity.

Boeing fell $1.84, or 2 percent, to $80.52 on Jan. 11 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have fallen almost 9 percent in the past year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tarek Al-Issawi in Dubai at talissawi@bloomberg.net; Arif Sharif in Dubai at asharif2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 13, 2008 12:14 EST