Tokyo/Seattle, April 26 (Reuters): Boeing said on Monday that All Nippon Airways has ordered 50 of its 7E7 jetliners in the largest commercial jet launch order in the US aircraft maker’s history.
The order allows Boeing to proceed with its first all-new aircraft in more than a decade, seen as a key move in regaining market share lost to Airbus, which overtook Boeing last year for the no 1 spot in commercial jet deliveries.
Boeing said the order was valued at $6 billion at list prices, although these are routinely discounted, especially for launch-order contracts.
ANA will begin taking delivery of the new aircraft in 2008 but has not yet chosen an engine maker for its 7E7s, which are being offered with twin power plants made by either Rolls-Royce Plc or General Electric Aircraft Engines.
The order helps Boeing maintain its stranglehold on jetliner sales in Japan, where it has a market share around 80 per cent, aided by close ties to Japanese manufacturers.
“Airline interest in the 7E7 has been extraordinary,” Alan Mulally, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a prepared statement.
Boeing has extended firm offers for the 7E7 to more than a dozen airlines around the world.
The order consists of short-haul 7E7s, which will carry about 300 passengers on routes up to 3,500 nautical miles, and standard model 7E7s, which will carry 200 to 250 passengers as far as 7,800 nautical miles.
The 50-jet order more than doubles Boeing's year-to-date total of 36 orders, which have dwindled in recent years amid a severe air travel slump that has pushed many airlines into bankruptcy.
The 7E7 is designed as a fuel-efficient replacement for current mid-sized jets, including Boeing's discontinued 757 narrow-body aircraft and its slow-selling 767 wide-body.
ANA will use the 7E7s to retire larger aircraft, which is expected to cut down on empty seats and boost profits.
“ANA has gotten to work early with a plan to cut the average size of its planes and is steadily implementing that now,” said Osuke Itazaki, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston.
