Planemaker Boeing said on Saturday it had reached 700 provisional commitments for its revamped 737 MAX aircraft up from 600 at the end of October.

Boeing Commercial airplanes chief executive James Albaugh told reporters in Dubai he hoped to convert some of those commitments from nine customers into firm contracts by the end of this year or early 2012.

Asked about the prospects for Boeing 777 aircraft orders on the eve of the Dubai Airshow he declined to comment on specifics but said the planemaker hoped to announce several orders at the November 13-17 event.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Writing by Jason Benham; Editing by Praveen Menon)