Boeing announced on Tuesday that the Los Angeles-base International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), the largest airplane leasing company in the world, has ordered 63 airplanes worth 8.8 billion dollars at list prices.

 

The much-anticipated order, including 52 of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner jets, helped push sales of the biggest passenger plane maker's latest model to an astonishing 634 firm orders even before the first jet rolls out.

 

The deal, signed by ILFC chief executive Steve Udvar-Hazy Tuesday in Paris, dominated the second day of the Paris Air Show, where Boeing's arch rival Airbus made the headline Monday by taking orders and commitments totaling 45 billion dollars at list prices for its various models, including new mid-sized A350s and the delay-plagued A380s.

 

Hazy told a press conference that the Boeing 787 represents what the world needs tomorrow, stressing that his company's announcement was a firm order, not a memorandum of understanding. Hazey's ILFC will also buy 10 Boeing 737s and one 777.

 

That first of the Dreamliner airplane, a wide body, twin-engined jet which could carry up to 330 passengers for long range flights, is expected to roll out on schedule on July 8, Boeing officials confirmed at the show.

 

ILFC's order was the single biggest one for the 787 jet since Boeing launched the Dreamliner program to develop a mid-sized fuel-efficient passenger airliner in 2004. The biggest previous 787 order from a single buyer was All Nippon Airways' 50-plane launch order, while Chinese airlines have ordered a total of 57 787s in a group buy, according to earlier reports.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2007)