DUBAI. Mar 2: Dubai's Emirates Airline has signed a 142.9 million euro (157 million dollars) financing deal with a group of banks to finance the purchase of two Airbus A 330-200s, the carrier said in a statement today, reports AFP.

The deal is structured as a 12-year operating lease arranged by Emirates Bank International and Deutsche Bank AG. It is guaranteed by the UK's Export Credit Guarantee Department. Germany's Hermes and France's Coface.

Emirates, which is owned by the government of Dubai in the north of the United Arab Emirates. will receive the two planes in March, the first of 17 such aircraft on firm order.

Launched in 1985, Emirates serves 45 destinations in 37 countries.