Boeing Co. won a $10 billion order from Qantas Airways Ltd. to deliver 65 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, with an option for a further 50 planes, dealing a blow to rival aircraft maker Airbus.
The decision by the Australian carrier comes amid a record year in aircraft orders for Boeing and Airbus, which is 80 per cent owned by European Aerospace Defence & Space Co. and 20 per cent by Britain's BAE Systems Plc.
Qantas, the world's eighth-biggest passenger airline by market value, said it ordered 45 twin-aisled B787 jets with options for an additional 20. The value of the 65 B787s was Aus$13 billion (US$10 billion) at list price, Qantas said, adding it also took out purchase rights for an extra 50 B787 aircraft.
In the weeks leading up to the Qantas deal with Boeing today, Airbus took out full-page newspaper advertisements in Australia to promote its A350, a rival to the B787. "It was a pretty tight decision," said Peter Harbison, managing director of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. "There is much more to this than just price. It's an important strategic move.
"It was also important to Boeing. If they had lost this one and you extrapolate, Boeing would virtually be out of Qantas, and that would have been a massive turnaround from, say, five years ago when it was an all-Boeing fleet."
Boeing and Airbus have recorded more than $100 billion in orders this year. Airlines are replacing older fleets by investing in more fuel-efficient planes to help lower costs. The Qantas order will push Boeing further ahead of Airbus in 2005 order numbers.