Boeing said today that All Nippon Airways ordered 50 of its 7E7 jetliners in the largest commercial jet launch order in the US aircraft maker's history.
The order allows Boeing to proceed with its first all-new aircraft in more than a decade and is seen as a key move in regaining market share lost to Airbus, which overtook Boeing last year for the number one spot in commercial jet deliveries.
Boeing said the order was valued at $6 billion at list prices, although these are routinely discounted, especially for launch-order contracts.
All Nippon Airways will begin taking delivery of the new aircraft in 2008 but has not yet chosen an engine maker for its 7E7s, which are being offered with twin power plants made by either Rolls-Royce or General Electric Aircraft Engines.
The order helps Boeing maintain its stranglehold on jetliner sales in Japan, where it has a market share around 80 per cent, aided by close ties to Japanese manufacturers.
"Airline interest in the 7E7 has been extraordinary," said Mr Alan Mulally, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a prepared statement. Boeing has extended firm offers for the 7E7 to more than a dozen airlines around the world.
The order consists of short-haul 7E7s, which will carry about 300 passengers on routes up to 3,500 nautical miles, and standard model 7E7s, which will carry 200 to 250 passengers as far as 7,800 nautical miles (14,500 km).
The 50-jet order more than doubles Boeing's year-to-date total of 36 orders, which have dwindled in recent years amid a severe air travel slump that has pushed many airlines into bankruptcy.