British Airways unveils much-anticipated order
27 September 2007
British Airways (BA) announced a much-anticipated order for new aircraft on 27 September. BA placed an order for 12 Airbus A380s with seven options and 24 B-787s with 18 options. The firm order Boeing aircraft will include a mix of B-787-8s and B-787-9s. Total list price for the firm orders is USD8.2 billion for the aircraft and engines.
The choice of the Airbus A380 ends Boeing's decades of dominance in providing large aircraft to BA. In the initial phase of its refleeting programme, Airbus was unable to secure an order from BA for the A350XWB. However, the airline will continue to consider the most suitable aircraft to replace its remaining 37 B-747-400 aircraft and is examining the B-787-10, B-777-300ER and A350XWB.
The new aircraft will replace 34 of the airline's long-haul fleet - including 20 B-747-400s and 14 B-767s - and will be delivered between 2010 and 2014. The order, including options, will give the airline the ability to grow its capacity by up to 4 per cent per year and the flexibility to tailor its future capacity growth in line with market conditions.
BA said it has arranged for a group of banks to provide USD1.5 billion of debt financing to cover all of the airline's firm orders to the end of 2011.
BA currently operates 114 long-haul aircraft, including 57 B-747-400s, 43 B-777s and 14 B-767s.
The deal represents BA's largest aircraft order since 1998. © 2007 Jane's Information Group