Australia’s Qantas Airways said on Thursday it has chosen Airbus as the preferred supplier to replace its domestic fleet, switching away from Boeing in a major win for the European manufacturer.
The airline said it had committed to buying 20 Airbus A321XLR planes and 20 A220-300 jets and had taken purchase options on another 94 aircraft, subject to board approval expected by June 2022.
Deliveries would start in mid-2023 and continue over the next 10 years to replace an ageing fleet of 75 Boeing 737s and 20 Boeing 717s, Qantas said.
“This is a clear sign of our confidence in the future and we’ve locked in pricing ahead of what is likely to be a big uptick in demand for next-generation narrow-body aircraft,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement.
It caps a successful week for Airbus after Singapore Airlines on Wednesday agreed to launch the A350 freighter.
The European maker also looks likely to win a narrow-body order from KLM as early as Thursday, in what would be the second defection to Airbus in 24 hours.
The loss of the contract is a blow to Boeing’s 737 MAX, interrupting a strong run of sales since the jet was cleared for flight late last year following a safety ban.
Qantas has operated Boeing jets since 1959 and was once the world’s only airline with an all 747 fleet. The US-based manufacturer will now supply only its long-haul 787 Dreamliners.
“Although we are disappointed, we respect Qantas’ decision and look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership,” Boeing said in a statement.
The Qantas decision comes just two days after Boeing launched a five-year, A$41 million research programme with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, to improve aviation sustainability, digital engineering and factory safety and productivity.
Separately, Qantas reported a “significant loss” of more than $1 billion for the December half and warned that the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has affected demand for international travel.
The Australian carrier said it is witnessing strong demand for domestic travel, its freight business was on track for a record year and that it had made progress on paying down debt, allowing it to proceed with a massive new aircraft order.
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