Jet Orders Push Boeing’s Total for Year to 380

Boeing Co. said that Alaska Airlines has ordered two 737-700 jetliners and unveiled previous orders for eight more 737-700s from the subsidiary of Alaska Air Group Inc. Boeing also said that Singapore Airlines Ltd. has exercised options to buy 10 of its 777-200ER wide-body jets worth $1.5 billion at list prices. The orders from Alaska Airlines are valued at about $450 million at prices listed on Boeing’s Web site. The two new orders bring the Seattle-based aerospace giant’s 1999 total to 380 airplanes and close the gap with European rival Airbus Industrie, which has reported 420 orders this year. The eight previously unannounced orders were part of a block of 163 planes worth $9.5 billion that Boeing unveiled on Dec. 15. The Singapore Airlines order was not part of that block. Boeing has now identified buyers for 70 of those 163 planes. Airbus executives have labeled Boeing’s claim on the number of orders as dubious, noting buyers of the majority of the 163 newly announced orders remain unidentified. Airbus lists five orders from anonymous buyers among its 1999 totals. In late 1995, SIA, a prominent Asian carrier, ordered 34 Boeing 777s and signed options for 43 more. Boeing drew heated criticism from Airbus last June after SIA announced it would sell all 17 of its Airbus A340 wide-bodies to Boeing and exercise options to buy 10 new 777s from that 1995 order. Boeing’s shares rose $1.81 to close at $41.19 in trading on the NYSE.