Korean Air, ALC Boost Boeing’s Dreamliner with Big Orders
Deals involve a total of 35 of the widebodies

Boeing’s relatively strong sales year for widebodies continued Tuesday at the Paris Air Show, when the U.S. manufacturer landed sizeable orders for all three versions of the Dreamliner. First, Boeing, Korean Air, and Air Lease Corp. signed a letter of intent covering 30 GEnX-powered 787s, including a direct order for ten 787-10s and ten 787-9s with Korean and another ten 787-10s from ALC for placement with the flag carrier. Boeing estimated the value of the direct agreement with Korean at $6.3 billion.


With its order, Korean will quadruple the size of its 787 fleet to 40 airplanes. Korean Air operates a fleet of 96 Boeing passenger airplanes, including the 737NG, 747, 777, and 787. The airline also operates an all-Boeing cargo fleet with 747-400, 747-8, and 777 Freighters.


Meanwhile, Boeing and Air Lease inked a commitment for the purchase five 787-9s valued at $1.5 billion at list prices. For ALC, the order raises the number of 787-9s and -10s in its portfolio to nearly 60, said company chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy. “These aircraft are already placed; we have airline customers that have already signed leases with us,” he reported.


Appearing alongside Udvar-Hazy, Boeing v-p of commercial sales and marketing Ihssane Mounir talked about the important role the leasing company played in Boeing’s latest widebody placement with Korean. “That was a joint effort between our company and ALC in working with the customer to define the requirements and determine what they need in terms of the mix,” said Mounir.