Air France Orders 10 Jets From Boeing

Boeing Co. won an order from Air France valued at $2 billion for 10 of its longest-range 777-300 jetliners, giving the U.S. plane maker a boost in its rivalry with Airbus Industrie.

Air France also took options for 10 more of the 777-300s, which were known as the 777-300X until Boeing’s board approved them in February. The planes, due for delivery in 2003, can be used to carry about 360 people on routes deep into Asia.

The order is important for Boeing because Air France, based in Airbus’ home nation, only recently agreed to buy 10 of the European plane maker’s planned 550-seat A3XX “super-jumbo” jetliners. Boeing argues that planes like the smaller 777 will see stronger sales as airlines try to fly more frequent routes linking mid-size cities.

“Airbus can spend all its time convincing airlines to add capacity, but it’s entirely possible that Boeing’s smaller-plane strategy might win the day--and make them a lot of money,” said Richard Aboulafia, director of aircraft consulting at the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va.

Shares of Boeing, based in Seattle, rose $1.25 to close at $61.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The order is also a victory for Boeing’s newest 777s over the competing long-range Airbus models, the A340-500/600. Boeing now has 49 commitments for the new 777s, nearing the 60 Airbus has won in almost three years of selling the rival craft.

Pierre Vellay, Air France corporate vice president for new planes and fleet development, cited the “reliability, capability and economy” of the 777s in a statement released by a Boeing office in Germany. Air France also confirmed the order.

The new 777s have helped Boeing regain the lead in this year’s sales race with Airbus, the only other maker of large commercial aircraft. Boeing had 467 orders compared with 235 for Airbus in the most recent tallies on their Web sites. Boeing had 52 orders for various versions of the 777 this year compared with 17 for the A340.