Mitsui Order Gives Douglas a Boost

McDonnell Douglas sold five of its proposed MD-11 jetliners Monday to Mitsui, a Japanese conglomerate that plans to lease out the wide-body jetliners.

The $500-million sale gives McDonnell Douglas orders for a total of 14 MD-11s, a derivative of the existing DC-10 that will offer new engines, an updated cockpit, a redesigned wing and additional passenger and cargo capacity.

The McDonnell board has said that the company must obtain 20 orders before it will authorize full-scale development and production of the MD-11. Industry observers said that, with the latest development, the program is all but certain to go ahead.

In addition to the Mitsui order and the sale of nine aircraft to British Caledonian Airways last week, McDonnell Douglas has received letters of intent from two airlines whose names have not been disclosed.

However, industry sources and analysts believe that those letters were signed by Scandinavian Airlines Systems and Swiss Air.