Boeing (BA -0.76%) has received commitments for 102 of its 787-10 Dreamliners, the company announced today at the Paris Air Show.
Those commitments come from five customers in Europe, Asia, and North America. Air Lease Corp. (AL 2.95%) will buy 30 of the airplanes. GE Capital Aviation Services is in line to buy 10; International Airlines Group/British Airways, 12 (subject to shareholder approval); Singapore Airlines, 30; and United Airlines (UAL 0.17%), 20 planes.
Air Lease Chairman and CEO Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, whose company will also be purchasing three 787-9s from Boeing, said "Both of these airplanes possess ... the ideal size, capabilities and economical operating costs for their medium to long-haul markets."
The United Airlines commitment increases its on-order and already-delivered 787s to 65. United is the only U.S. airline to currently fly 787s. Its fleet includes six first-generation 787-8 Dreamliners.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner says the 787-10 Dreamliner "will be the most-efficient jetliner in history ... [It] is 25 percent more efficient than airplanes of its size today and more than 10 percent better than anything being offered by the competition in the future."
The 787-10, engineered to cover up to 7,000 nautical miles, with seating for 300-330 passengers, is the third generation of the Dreamliner family, but is still on the drawing board. Flight tests for the 787-10 won't begin until 2017, and the first deliveries are not expected until 2018. The second-generation Dreamliner, the 787-9, is set to have its first flights later this year. The original 787 can seat between 210 and 250 passengers while the 787-9 will be able to seat between 250 and 290 passengers.
The new 787-10 lists at $290 million, making the deals announced today worth nearly $30 billion at full price, although customers often negotiate deep discounts.
-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
