Northwest Orders, Options Jetliners Worth $5.2 Billion

Northwest Airlines said Thursday that it placed orders and options for 90 jetliners worth $5.2 billion from Boeing Co.

The St. Paul-based carrier said the largest aircraft order in its history consists of firm orders for six Boeing 747-400 long-range aircraft and 40 Boeing 757-200 jetliners. The order also includes options for four more 747s and another 40 of the medium-range 757s.

Northwest, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, said the firm orders are worth about $2.7 billion and the options $2.5 billion.

But the airline, target of a $3.65-billion leveraged buyout led by investor Alfred A. Checchi, said it has not yet decided how to pay for the planes, which may be purchased or leased.

In an LBO, investors borrow heavily to buy a company and use cash from its operations, and often asset sales, to pay off the debt.

Airlines typically place small deposits with the manufacturer when making large aircraft orders to reserve “delivery positions” on crowded assembly lines.

U.S. airlines have been ordering planes at a record clip for the past few years to replace older jetliners and accommodate growing passenger traffic, particularly on overseas routes.

The Northwest order is a blow to Europe’s Airbus Industrie, which had previously won large orders from Northwest.

The first delivery of the new planes is scheduled for the second half of 1993, with all aircraft arriving by 1998, Northwest said.

A Boeing official said it was too early to tell whether a 9-day-old strike by union machinists would affect delivery of the planes.