Aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced that Riyadh Airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines have placed an order for 39 long-haul 787 Dreamliners each, and have raised the possibility of purchasing an additional 43 aircraft for both, or 121 in total.

With the additional 43 potential aircraft included, this would be the fifth largest order by value received by Boeing, which did not want to specify the value of the deal nor how the planes would be divided between the 787-9 and 787-10 models.

According to the White House, the total value of the order amounts to $37 billion.

"This agreement is part of the broader Saudi strategic plan aimed at turning the country into a global aviation hub," Boeing said in a statement.

The company indicated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking forward to transporting, through its two airlines, 330 million passengers annually and receiving 100 million tourists by 2030.

Saudi Arabia is pursuing ambitious aviation goals as part of the broad "Vision 2030" reform of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of a new air carrier under the name "Riyadh Airlines", owned by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund.

Its CEO, Tony Douglas, said in an interview on CNBC that the Kingdom's "ambition is enormous," with the company's intention, in particular, to launch flights to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030.

"There will be other orders," he added.

Saudi Airlines, which currently operates 93 Airbus and 51 Boeing aircraft, according to its website, hopes to expand its network by increasing the size of its fleet.

Compared to its competitors Emirates, Etihad or Qatar Airways, Saudi airlines have the ability to draw on a domestic market of about 35 million people.

For his part, Boeing President Dave Kallon told CNBC that the company, which is currently struggling to increase production due to suppliers still affected by the repercussions of the pandemic, will be able to meet the order.

"The situation is improving," he said, and "we are convinced (...) that we will be able to reach the production rates" that the group set for itself at the end of 2022, which is to build 10 Boeing 787 aircraft per month by 2025 or 2026. He confirmed that the orders received of Saudi companies incorporated into this goal.

But the manufacturer did not specify when the aircraft would be delivered.

It also did not mention how the orders were divided between "787-9" and "787-10". These two models are sold respectively for $292 million and $338 million each, according to the latest catalog prices sent by Boeing in 2019.

On the other hand, Boeing indicated that all aircraft will be equipped with General Electric engines.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blikin praised the agreement, noting that it followed "discussions that lasted for years, especially with US officials."

The announcement is evidence of the improvement in relations between Washington and Riyadh, after Biden warned last year of "consequences" when expressing his disappointment with Saudi Arabia's decision to cut oil production.

"We have repeatedly said that it is a strategic partnership, which it has been for eight decades, and like any partnership or friendship that undergoes ups and downs," said John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council.

"We look forward to this strategic partnership truly serving, in every possible way, our national security interests there in the region and around the world," he added.

For its part, the Saudi Embassy to the United States stressed that the order "reaffirms the close commercial relations between the Kingdom and the United States."