Nigeria’s Arik Air has placed an order for the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in a swap deal that saw the airline swap its order for two Boeing 747-8Is with two Boeing 787-9s.

The two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are worth $529 million at list price. Arik Air had in 2011 placed a firm order for two Boeing 747-8Is.

This swap order while being in the best interest of Arik Air and Boeing, has further shrunk the already slim order backlog for the Boeing 747-8 as airlines shun four-engine aircraft in favour of more efficient two-engine.

The delivery schedule for the new orders is not very clear from Boeing and Arik Air but for obvious reasons, may not be any time soon.

Arik Air currently operates a fleet of 26 aircraft including Airbus A340-500s, A330-200s, Boeing 737-700NGs, Boeing 737-800NGs, Bombardier CRJ900s, Bombardier CRJ1000 and Bombardier Q400s.