Boeing, ILFC Agree on Deal for 50 737s

Boeing Co., the world’s biggest plane maker, on Wednesday said it reached agreement with International Lease Finance Corp. on an order for at least 50 of its 737 jetliners valued at $2.4 billion.

ILFC, based in Los Angeles, also has the option to buy 50 more of the 737 jets. The lessor had said in June that it planned to place the order and has been negotiating the details of the agreement since then.

ILFC was among the customers Boeing chose not to identify on Dec. 15, when it said it had $9 billion in orders for 163 jets from undisclosed buyers. That announcement helped Boeing narrow archrival Airbus Industrie’s lead in this year’s order race.

The 737s seat 108 to 189 people in various models and compete with Airbus A320 aircraft.

Boeing also identified finance company GATX Capital as another one of the unidentified customers.

And Tuesday, Boeing confirmed an order of five jetliners from Delta Air Lines, which also formed part of the unidentified orders that have been disputed by Airbus.

GATX Capital, the asset leasing division of GATX Corp., has placed orders for five next-generation 737-800s and two 757-200s for delivery in 2000 and 2001, Boeing said.

At list prices, the orders would be worth a total of $358 million, although Boeing did not release pricing on the GATX order.

“GATX has been a major force in introducing the 737-800 into France and other countries in Europe,” Seddik Belyamani, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group executive vice president for sales and marketing, said in a statement.

The Delta order comprised three single-aisle 737-800s and two twin-engine 757-200s, Boeing said.

Boeing said last week that it had orders for 163 aircraft to unidentified buyers, a claim that Toulouse, France-based Airbus described as implausible. Airbus’ published 1999 order book had been double Boeing’s before the U.S. company said it would adopt the Airbus policy of counting orders to customers that did not want to be identified.

Boeing spokesman Fernando Vivanco had said Tuesday that more announcements identifying the buyers of the rest of the 163 orders unveiled last week will follow, adding that some others may remain anonymous for some time.

On Wednesday, Boeing shares rose 69 cents to close at $39.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.