Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) is in talks to buy a near-record total of 400 jetliners from Airbus and Boeing in a USD40bn order, its CEO told Reuters. The move comes months after a leading US airline investor orchestrated a record deal involving more than 400 planes from Airbus as economists project strong growth for air travel, led by the continued expansion of budget carriers. The government-controlled Dubai firm is interested in buying single-aisle Airbus A320neo-family and Boeing 737 MAX planes after its acquisition last year of Dublin-based lessor AWAS, its CEO Firoz Tarapore said on Thursday. Any deal would not necessarily be evenly split between the two planemakers, Tarapore said, adding DAE was “nowhere near where we thought we would be” in finalising an order. “We are not happy with the price,” he said in an interview at DAE’s offices in Dubai’s financial district.