Boeing says the 737 MAX, which is due to enter service in 2017, will be 14 percent more fuel-efficient than the most efficient 737s available today/AFP
Le Bourget, France, June 16- US manufacturer Boeing announced the sale of 100 737MAX planes for $10.7 billion (9.5 billion euros) on Tuesday as it struck back in the sales war with Airbus on the second day of the Paris Air Show.
Dutch rental company AerCap ordered 100 of Boeing’s upcoming 737MAX plane, which is due for its first test flight next year.
The order is the first for the upcoming version of the workhorse mid range 737 with more fue efficient engines by AerCap, which has a fleet of more than 1,800 aircraft.
That takes Boeing’s confirmed deals at the air show to $15.5 billion, edging ahead of Airbus which has so far announced $14.4 billion in firm orders.
Boeing also said Tuesday that it had received an order for 30 737MAXs from China’s low-cost Ruili Airlines which must still be approved by the Chinese government.
According to the catalogue price, that deal would be worth $3.2 billion.
Boeing’s other big order, announced Monday, was for 14 777s to Qatar Airways for $4.8 billion.
“It is the plane of the future, the technology is fantastic,” said AerCap boss Aengus Kelly of the 737.
Ray Conner of Boeing’s commercial arm said it had taken a while to seal the deal.
“It’s a really important contract for us,” he said.
Boeing says the 737 MAX, which is due to enter service in 2017, will be 14 percent more fuel-efficient than the most efficient 737s available today.
Assembly of the wings on its first 737MAX began last month at its factory in the United States.
It already has more than 2,800 pre-orders for the short to mid range plane, the latest version of the 737 model that first took to the skies in the 1960s.
