Boeing has secured its biggest ever commercial aircraft deal with a 230-plane, $21.7 billion order from Indonesia’s Lion Air.
The airline is ordering 201 737 MAXs and 29 Next-Generation 737-900 ERs (extended range), with the deal also inclusive of purchase rights for an additional 150 airplanes, valued at more than $14 billion if exercised at list prices.
Boeing said that airlines operating the 737 MAX will see a 10 to 12 percent fuel burn improvement over today's most fuel efficient single-aisle airplanes and a seven percent operating cost advantage over tomorrow's competition,.
To date, the 737 MAX has commitments for more than 700 airplanes, while the Next-Generation 737 family has won orders for more than 6,000 airplanes and Boeing has delivered more than 3,800.
Lion Air, Indonesia's largest private airline, currently operates or has on order a total of 178 Next-Generation 737s.
Commenting, Rusdi Kirana, Lion Air founder and president director, said: "The 737 MAX will be the future of Lion Air. The highly efficient, technologically advanced airplane will help Lion Air continue to bring low fares and allow us to open new destinations because of the longer range of the airplane."
Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Jim Albaugh added: "We're proud that Lion Air picked the 737 once again, building on our successful partnership. Lion Air was a leader when it was the launch customer for the 737-900ER in 2005 and today it continues to be a leader as the first airline in Asia to commit to the 737 MAX."
Headquartered in Chicago, Boeing employs more than 165,000 people across the United States and in 70 countries.
