Emirates airline  will boost its fleet size to more than 250 aircraft by 2020, as the fast-growing operator continues its aggressive expansion, its chairman told a newspaper.

"We will be over 250 aircraft... maybe around 280 aircraft by 2020," Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum said in an interview with Gulf News.

Earlier this week, Emirates announced it was ordering an additional 50 Boeing 777 jetliners in a deal worth $18 billion, the largest commercial order by value in the US
planemaker's history.

Prior to this announcement, the Dubai-based carrier had 161 aircraft in service and 190 planes on order to be delivered over the next few years.  - Reuters