Boeing, Airbus to Share $5.04-Billion Plane Order

In what it said is the biggest commercial airplane order ever, International Lease Finance Co. of Beverly Hills announced today it will buy 100 airliners from Boeing Co. and 30 from Airbus Industrie of Europe.

The deal, which had been the focus of intense competition among airplane makers, will cost $5.04 billion over the next six years.

Boeing’s share of the order is $3.69 billion and Airbus, a consortium of European aerospace companies, will get orders worth $1.35 billion. Deliveries are set to begin in 1989 and run through 1995.

International Lease Finance, which leases planes to airlines on a short- or medium-term basis, did not say if it has commitments from airlines to take the aircraft.

The purchase is intended to meet anticipated demand for fuel-efficient, quiet planes to replace aging airline fleets and accommodate expanded business from 1990 to 1995, said Steven Udvar-Hazy, president of the leasing company.

“Our decision ensures high-demand aircraft will be available to the world’s airlines over the next six years at a time when production availability is growing limited,” Udvar-Hazy said.

The Boeing order consists of 72 planes of models 737-300, 737-400 and 737-500, eight 757-200s, nine 767-300ERs, four 747-400s and a previously unannounced order of six planes in the 737 series and one 757-200.