South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) is planning to spend "between USD4billion and USD7billion" on 25-30 long-haul aircraft, set to become the struggling airline's backbone fleet. According to the carrier's Acting CEO, Nico Bezuidenhout, both the B787-8 and the A350-900/A350-1000 have been considered with a decision due in the next 90 days. Once an order has been placed, deliveries would be expected to commence from 2017 onwards he said. While once a staunch Boeing (BOE, Washington National) operator, SAA's long haul fleet is currently dominated with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) metal: six A330-200s, eight A340-300s and nine A340-600s.