Aerospace and defense giant Boeing Co.(BA) announced a deal with Qatar Airways for nine Boeing 777-300 Extended Range airplanes. The agreement is worth around $2.8 billion at list prices and include two firm orders and commitments for seven aircraft.
On the opening day of the Paris Air Show, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said, "With its reliability, economics and range capability, the 777 will continue to play a key role in enabling Qatar Airways to operate more direct non-stop flights from our hub in Doha to destinations in many markets including Australasia and the United States."
Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of 125 aircraft to 128 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas. The fleet includes 35 Boeing passenger, cargo 777s of various types, including 22 777-300ERs, nine 777-200 Longer Range airplanes and four 777 Freighters.
In February, Boeing has increased the production rate of 777 to 8.3 per month, with 100 airplanes per year and has delivered 1,105 777 aircraft till May and a total of 1,452 have been ordered by 68 customers around the globe.
In another development at the Pari Air Show, Boeing said GE Capital Aviation Services or GECAS, the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric (GE) committed an order for 10 787-10X Dreamliners equipped with state-of-art GEnx engines, subject to the 787-10 program launch. The details of the agreement is yet to be finalized.
GECAS President and CEO Norman C.T. Liu said, "The 787-10X will be a perfect complement to our broad portfolio of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft offering the lowest operating costs in the market."
According to Boeing, the 787-10X would add approximately 15 percent passenger capacity over the 787-9 with superior fuel efficiency to serve medium and long-haul markets.
In a separate announcement, Boeing said its current products, such as the Next-Generation 737, 747-8, 777 and 787, offer outstanding efficiency.
Boeing projects a demand for more than 35,000 new airplanes over the next 20 years, valued at $4.8 trillion and world fleet is forecasted to double over the next two decades.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com