Boeing lands big order for Dreamliners
SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s flagship carrier Qantas said Wednesday it could order up to 115 new Boeing Co. Dreamliners in a deal that may net Boeing at least $14.4 billion and help it land a heavy blow in its battle with rival Airbus.
Qantas said it has placed firm orders for 65 new Boeing 787 passenger jets and has secured rights to buy another 50 of the so-called Dreamliners to cope with future growth.
In a statement, Chicago-based Boeing said the aviation company and Qantas were finalizing an agreement that will include orders for 45 Dreamliners, with 20 options plus purchase rights for an additional 50 airplanes as Qantas moves to renew its fleet.
Boeing lists the price for the 787 on its Web site as $125 million to $135 million, but airlines frequently negotiate discounts.
The deal means that Boeing pulls far ahead in its quest this year to sell more aircraft than its archrival Airbus, which also had been lobbying Qantas to buy its planes. As of the end of November, Boeing had won 800 orders — not including the Qantas order — more than any year in nearly two decades, and more than the previous three years combined. Airbus sold 687 planes during the same period — up from 370 in 2004.
Boeing said the deal with Qantas was an important development with a key customer for the aviation company.
Airbus spokesman David Voskuhl expressed disappointment with the Qantas decision but said the “flagship of their fleet” would be the A380 superjumbo.
The Airbus A350, a planned long-range competitor to the Dreamliner, is set to enter service in 2010, two years after the Boeing plane. Neither Qantas nor the rival aircraft makers indicated whether delivery schedules were an important factor in the decision.
The new plane orders announced Wednesday come on top of a multibillion dollar deal to buy 12 new Airbus A380 superjumbo planes — the world’s largest passenger jet. Qantas will begin taking delivery of the A380s early in 2007.
Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson said the airline would fund the Boeing 787 purchases from the company’s operating cash flow.
“This fleet plan will give us a modern fleet offering maximum flexibility, lower seat mile costs and greater fuel efficiency,” Jackson said in a statement.
Investors approved of the announcement, sending Qantas stock soaring 3.2 percent to close at $3.87 Australian dollar ($2.91).
The announcement signals that Qantas will not begin flying nonstop between Sydney and destinations like London. The company had talked to both Boeing and Airbus about buying planes capable of making the flight without a refueling stop.
Qantas said it had sought tenders from Airbus and Boeing for ultra-long range variants of the Airbus A340 and Boeing 777 as part of its current fleet renewal plan.