Air Canada on Monday announced firm orders for 32 Boeing Co wide-bodied jets in a deal worth $6 billion, adding to the top US planemaker's recent win streak against archrival Airbus. The order by Air Canada's parent, 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.
Canada's largest airline, which emerged from court protection from creditors at the end of September, had said it was considering Airbus planes as it modernised its fleet, including the A340-500, which it already had in its fleet.
"We would expect Boeing shares to move higher in this environment of rising orders," said Jeffries & Co analysts in a research note. "Air Canada has been adding Airbus wide-body planes to its fleet. This is a significant change."
Boeing shares were up $1.48, or 2.6 percent, at $59.37 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, outperforming the US aerospace sector.
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 planes, the whole deal could be worth as much as $14 billion.
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 percent less fuel than today's planes of similar size, is slated to have its first flight in 2007.
Comments
Comments are closed.