Highly-touted for its promise of maximum comfort and fuel economy, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner lured fresh orders from the Middle East region as Oman Air announced on Monday its decision to purchase six aircrafts from the U.S.-based firm.

In a statement, Oman Air chief executive Peter Hill has indicated that the deal was actually a 'replacement' contract that transfers a previous order earlier placed by ALAFCO, an aircraft leasing firm operating from the Gulf state of Kuwait.

Estimated to reach more than $1 billion, the new plane acquisition, according to Hill, is Oman Air's way of accelerating its expansion plans beyond the Gulf areas following the boom recently seen among players in the region's airline industry.

"Our decision to order the 787-8 is part of Oman Air's long-term growth strategy to expand and modernize our fleet with newer, more fuel-efficient airplanes," the Oman Air CEO was quoted by The Associated Press as saying in a news release.

The new order came following Boeing's record deal over the weekend that saw another Gulf airliner, Dubai's Emirate, inking an $18 billion agreement with the American aircraft manufacturer that will soon pave the way for the delivery of 50 Boeing 777 in the immediate years ahead.

Like its Omani competitor, Emirate officials have declared that the blockbuster acquisition underscores the company's positive growth prospect for the airline industry in the regions amidst nagging global economic issues that hamper growth in many countries around the world.

Yet the allure of Dreamliner's new technology that emphasises at least 20 percent of more fuel mileage prompted many industry players in the Middle East region to put their stake on the new Boeing creation that has suffered production delays and cost blowouts running into billions of dollars.

Apart from the two Gulf airliners, Qatar Airways signed for 30 Dreamliner deliveries that according to AP could be upgraded to another 30 units in the years to come.

The Dreamliner flew its maiden commercial flight on October as Japanese airliner All Nippon Airways successfully completed the aircraft's initial performance that was soon followed by a minor glitch when a succeeding 787 flight failed to automatically deploy its landing gear.

Almost immediately, Boeing officials downplayed the incident and clarified that the pilot steering the Dreamliner was able to land the plane safely by reverting to manual manipulation of the landing gear, a feature, the company added, was inherent to the aircraft's safety functions.