Air Canada announced an order for up to 109 Boeing 737 Max aircraft today, in a deal valued at $6.5 billion at list prices.
The firm order includes 33 737 Max 8 and 28 737 Max 9 aircraft with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2017 and run through 2021. The Montreal-based carrier also has the right to substitute the 737 Max 7 for any of its firm orders.
The order includes options for an additional 18 aircraft and purchase rights for a further 30.
“We are pleased to announce our agreement with Boeing for the purchase of 737 Max aircraft as part of the on-going modernisation of Air Canada's fleet," says Calin Rovinescu, president and chief executive of Air Canada.
Air Canada is one of the first pure Airbus A320 family operators that Boeing has flipped to the Max.
The airline operates 29 A319s, 36 A320s and 10 A321s, Flightglobal’s Ascend Online database shows. It plans to replace the A320s and A321s, and is transitioning its A319s to its low-cost subsidiary Rouge.
Competition between Airbus and Boeing for the order is understood to have been intense, with sources telling Flightglobal that Air Canada was leaning towards an order for a combination of Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft as recently as the end of November.
Air Canada is scheduled to take delivery of two 737 Max aircraft in 2017, 16 in 2018, 18 in 2019, 16 in 2020 and nine in 2021.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
