Air Canada announced yesterday that it had placed firm orders for 32 Boeing Co. wide-bodied jets in a deal worth US$6 billion, adding to the top U.S. aircraft maker's recent winning streak against archrival Airbus. The planes are seen with Air Canada livery in this artist's image released by the company. - REUTERS
AIR CANADA yesterday announced firm orders for 32 Boeing Co. wide-bodied jets in a deal worth $6 billion, adding to the top United States aircraft maker's recent winning streak against archrival Airbus.
The order by Air Canada's parent company, ACE Aviation Holdings Inc, includes 18 Boeing 777 jets and 14 of Boeing's newest 787 Dreamliner jets.
After last year, missing its own target for 787 orders, Boeing has racked up a series of wins for the new plane this year as Airbus' proposed competing model, the A350, has struggled to gain traction in the marketplace.
MODERNISING FLEET
Canada's largest airline, which emerged from court protection from creditors at the end of September, had said it was considering Airbus aircraft as it modernised its fleet, including the A340-500, which it already flies.
As part of a plan to overhaul Air Canada's fleet, ACE said it also had options to buy a further 18 777 jets and a further 46 787s. If it buys the extra aircraft, the whole deal could be worth as much as $14 billion.
ACE declined to specify the value of the order, worth at least $5 billion based on the jets' list prices. Boeing put a price of about $6 billion on the deal.
The order brings the total of firm orders and commitments for the 787 Dreamliner to 217. The 200 to 300-seat jet, which will use 20 per cent less fuel than today's aircraft of similar size, is set to have its first flight in 2007
Boeing has vowed to reverse the dominance of Airbus, which has outsold the Chicago-based plane maker in every year since 2001 and is due to grab headlines on Wednesday with the maiden flight of its A380 super-jumbo.
"We expect Boeing to continue to lose share to Airbus over the next several years," said Prudential analyst Jared Muroff, adding that the cutthroat competition between the two would also squeeze margins.
