Boeing 737 Max Orders Top 1,000 on $6 Billion Lessor Deal

Boeing Co. (BA) won an order for 60 of its upgraded single-aisle 737s from Aviation Capital Group LLC, a deal with a $6 billion catalog value that pushed purchases of the new jet past the planemaker’s full-year goal.

The sale was completed in December and consists of 50 of the 737 Max-8 model and 10 of the Max-9 variant, Boeing said today in a statement. Airlines and lessors typically buy at a discount to list prices.

Aviation Capital’s acquisition boosted orders for the 737 Max to a total of 1,029, or 29 more than Chicago-based Boeing’s target, as the planemaker plays catch-up with Airbus SAS. The Max will feature more fuel-efficient engines and is set to enter service in 2017, after the scheduled 2015 debut for Airbus’s A320neo series.

“Reaching 1,000 orders in just over a year’s time from our first order” shows the aircraft’s value for customers, said Bob Feldmann, vice president for the jet program. “Customers are expressing confidence in our ability to deliver improved performance on schedule.”

The planemaker was criticized after more than three years of delays on its most recent all-new jet, the composite plastic 787 Dreamliner, which was delivered to its first customer in late 2011.

Boeing unveiled plans to revamp the 737 with the Max variant in July of the same year, more than seven months after Airbus announced the neo, a lag that helped the European planemaker book record narrow-body orders in 2011. Equipped with Leap engines from CFM International, a partnership of General Electric Co. and Safran SA. (SAF), the Max reduces fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions by 13 percent.

List Prices

Boeing’s 737 Max 8 lists for $100.5 million, and the Max 9 for $107.3 million.

“This order is a major step in building our broad portfolio of modern, fuel-efficient airplanes,” Denis Kalscheur, chief executive officer of Aviation Capital, said in a statement. The jet lessor, based in Newport Beach, California, was founded in 1989, according to its website.

Boeing rose 2.3 percent to $77.07 at the close of New York trading. The shares have climbed 5.1 percent in the past year.

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Although Airbus' A320neo is selling pretty well, the newer gen B737 is doing even better by selling like hotcakes. It has been very fierce marketing by Boeing ever since the introduction of their new generation model and what used to be dominated by the A320 is now starting to see a tilt towards the Boeing aircraft.

As a pilot, which one would you prefer? As a passenger, which one is your choice to fly in?