Lufthansa Splits $19 Billion Aircraft Order Among Airbus & Boeing

[alberttky 0]

(Reuters) - Deutsche Lufthansa AG's (LHAG.DE) board of directors and supervisory board are expected to approve in mid-September an order for about 50 wide-body jets worth more than $10 billion at list prices, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The German airline previously said it expected to place such an order in the second half of 2013.

Lufthansa is evaluating Boeing Co's (BA.N) 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's still-to-be-launched 777X, and Airbus's (EAD.PA) A350, which made its maiden flight in June.

Final approval of the order is expected at Lufthansa's September 18 supervisory board meeting, after the airline's executive board makes a preliminary decision, the sources said.

Since most delivery slots for the new planes are booked years in advance, Lufthansa is expected to buy the latest versions of the planes, such as the recently launched 787-10, the 777X-9 and the A350-1000, one of the sources said.

The order could be a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, or Lufthansa could choose to buy only one aircraft type or order entirely from one plane maker, the sources said.

The new wide-body planes would replace 22 Boeing 747-400s and more than 20 Airbus A340s currently in Lufthansa's fleet.

Lufthansa's fleet has no 777 passenger planes. Its cargo operation has five 777 freighters on order, with the first delivery due in October. Lufthansa's Austrian and Swiss airline subsidiaries already fly 777 passenger planes.

The new wide-body planes likely would be delivered starting in 2018 or 2019, so it is not yet known how many would be for replacement of existing aircraft and how many would be for growth, said one of the sources.

Lufthansa is considering the 787 Dreamliner even though the new high-tech jet has suffered a string of problems, including overheating batteries that prompted regulators to ground the craft earlier this year.

In August, Lufthansa Chief Financial Officer Simone Menne said the airline was not worried about problems with the Dreamliner because "a lot of aircraft have teething problems in the beginning, like the 747-400, and now it's flying absolutely reliable for years and years and years."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/22/us-lufthansa-order-idUSBRE97L0ZS20130822

[Azman MN 1]

About time.

 

Swiss have 773ER on order, but do not fly them already.

[flee 5]

Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) plans to order 59 wide-body aircraft from Boeing Co. (BA) and Airbus SAS, splitting the purchase valued at $19 billion as the German carrier phases out aging long-distance aircraft.

 

The purchase, Lufthansa’s biggest to date, is for 34 Boeing 777-9X Boeing aircraft and 25 Airbus A350-900s, the Cologne-based airline said in a statement today. Deliveries of the A350s will start in 2016, while the first Boeing 777 will be delivered in 2020.

Lufthansa’s fleet renewal is part of an overhaul initiated under Chief Executive Officer Christoph Franz, who announced his surprise departure this week to join Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG next year. Lufthansa already unveiled the purchase of new narrow-body Airbus aircraft this year, and the addition of the long-distance jets would help replace older Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340-300 four-engine airliners that are more fuel intensive.

“Less fuel consumption, less carbon dioxide emissions and less noise: the aircraft on order will enable us to make a quantum leap in efficiency,” Franz said, according to the statement.

The next 777, the world’s biggest twin-engine airliner, will feature new engines from General Electric Co. (GE) called GE-9X on the upgraded model and the largest wing ever on a Boeing plane to help improve performance. It will be able to seat more than 400 people, Boeing has said. Lufthansa has so far not flown the current 777 in its own passenger business and only uses the aircraft for cargo and its Swiss and Austrian subsidiaries.

Full report: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-19/lufthansa-splits-19-billion-aircraft-order-among-airbus-boeing.html