Delta Air Lines Inc plans to order 100 Boeing Co 737 single-aisle jets, a deal with a list value of about $8.58 billion and a rebuff to Airbus SAS, two people familiar with the matter said. The purchase would be for 737-900 extended range jets, which carry about 200 passengers, and the Atlanta-based airline’s board will vote on the matter later this week, said one of the people, who wasn’t authorised to speak publicly.
Winning Delta’s business is a boost for Chicago-based Boeing, which lost its exclusive relationship with American Airlines last month as that carrier split an order between the US plane maker and Toulouse, France-based Airbus. Delta had also been an all-Boeing customer until its 2008 purchase of Northwest Airlines added hundreds of Airbus planes to its fleet.
Delta will use the new jets to replace its oldest and least-efficient planes, including some Boeing 757s that are 18 years old on average and MD-88s that are almost 21 years old. The 737-900ER has a list price of $85.8 million, according to Boeing’s website. Airlines typically buy at a discount.
Delta doesn’t comment on its plans for aircraft purchases, said Trebor Banstetter, a spokesman. John Dern, a Boeing spokesman, and Airbus’s Martin Fendt declined to comment.
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Boeing rose $1.68, or 2.9 per cent, to $59.22 at 9.52 am in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, while Delta gained 42 cents, or 5.8 per cent, to $7.63. Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co added 56 cents, or 2.7 per cent, to ¤21.33 in Paris.
Delta had said in January that it planned to buy 100 to 200 narrow-body jets and seek options for 200 more, with deliveries starting as soon as 2013.
Airbus had been offering its 185-seat A321 against the 737-900, one of the people said.
Sharklets, or special wingtips, are now an option on Airbus planes in the A320 jet family to increase range, making the aircraft a better substitute for y many US airlines on transcontinental routes. Boeing built the last 757 in 2004.
