British Airways will make a decision over the first part of its major long-haul aircraft order, covering aircraft joining the fleet from 2009, in the next four to six weeks.
The Oneworld carrier issued a request for proposals to Airbus, Boeing and engine manufacturers last October over its requirement for upwards of 50 widebody aircraft to replace its Boeing 767s and older 747-400s.
BA’s requirement is split into two parts. One centres on aircraft to join the fleet from 2009 – the carrier is looking at Airbus A330s and Boeing 777-200ERs.
The second requirement is for aircraft to be used for fleet replacement from the middle of the next decade. For this BA is studying the A350, 777-300ER and 787-9 and -10 for the twin-jet requirement, and the A380 or 747-8 for the large-aircraft requirement.
In an update during an analysts’ conference call today, BA chief executive Willie Walsh said a decision on the first requirement would be made shortly, but that negotiations were likely to continue for some time over the replacement aircraft.
“The 2009 fleet expansion decision will be taken within the next four to six weeks. So we will announce a decision in relation to the 2009 additional aircraft within the next four to six weeks,” he says. “For the second part, the fleet replacement, the negotiations will continue for many months yet, certainly through the summer.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
