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In The Wall Street Journal, Robert Wall details a major purchase of Boeing 777-9 jetliners by British Air (International Consolidated Airlines Group). BA will replace its fleet of aging 747s with the new jets. Wall writes:
International Consolidated Airlines Group , ICAGY -1.79% as IAG is formally known, said it would place a firm order for 18 Boeing 777-9s and take options for up to 24 more. The deal has a combined value of $18.5 billion at list price before industry standard discounts.
The jetliners will eventually replace BA’s aging 747 jumbo jets in another sign twin-engine long-range planes are supplanting their four-engine rivals. The 777X, when it flies later this year, will become the world’s largest twin-engine airliner.
Boeing rival Airbus SE this month threw in the towel on the four-engine A380 superjumbo because of a lack of demand. It will stop building the plane that never turned a profit in 2021. Boeing also is building only about six 747s a year because airlines aren’t ordering the plane that first flew 50 years ago.
IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh called the 777-9 “the ideal replacement for the Boeing 747.”
Read more here.
