In a deal worth $2.7 billion at list prices, Air France and KLM have teamed up to make a joint order for Boeing 737s and 777s. A total of nine 777-300ERs will be delivered to Air France while KLM will receive seven 737-700s. Options for a further nine 777s and seven 737-700s are also part of the deal.
The order is the first aircraft evaluation and purchase conducted by the Air France-KLM Group since it merged in 2003. However, the carriers are at pains to point out that they remain separate in operational terms. The fleet renewal “underscores our intention to operate as full-fledged airline brands within the Air France-KLM Group”, says Peter Hartman, the newly appointed chief executive of KLM.
The merged airlines will “try to make some leverage because of our size as a very large air carrier”, says Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, chief operating officer of Air France. “We are more and more together,” he says, especially in terms of negotiating with Airbus and Boeing.
“They leveraged the heck out of us,” joked Boeing chief Scott Carson at the press briefing. Discussing their preferred timing for a next generation narrowbody, “the sooner the better”, says Gourgeon. “But it is maybe worth waiting a little bit more to really get a good solution.” Air France-KLM wants a new narrowbody to obtain better fuel efficiency and to reduce emissions.
- KLM has chosen the CFM56-7B engines for the Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The engine order is valued at $95 million. The Air France-KLM group is CFM’s largest European customer and currently operates 43 CFM56-powered Boeing classic and Next-Generation 737 aircraft.
All of Air France-KLM Group's CFM56-7B engines are the new Tech Insertion standard, incorporating advanced technologies developed and validated as part of Project TECH56. The Tech Insertion package, certified this month, provides operators with lower maintenance costs, improved NOx emissions and better fuel burn. Tech Insertion includes improvements to the high-pressure compressor, the combustor, and the high- and low-pressure turbines.
Source: Flight Daily News
