El Al has decided to buy and lease a mix of 15 Boeing 787-8s and 787-9s to replace Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 767-300ERs, preserving the US manufacturer’s monopoly of the Israeli flag carrier’s fleet.
El Al is now negotiating exclusively with Boeing to sign a firm order for “about half” of the 15 aircraft worth $800 million to $900 million, the carrier says in a 5 August filing with the Tel Aviv stock exchange.
The firm order will include an option to purchase up to 13 more aircraft along with “additional alternative engines”, the filing states.
El Al also plans to lease about half of the total amount of 15 new aircraft, not including the 13 options.
The 787-9s will “gradually” replace the carrier’s six 747-400s, and the 787-8s will succeed seven 767-300ERs now in operation, El Al says.
All 15 aircraft will enter the fleet between 2017 and 2020.
The decision blunts an Airbus effort to break Boeing’s long-standing monopoly status in the El Al fleet.
It also revives a previous El Al plan to order 787s. In 2006, the carrier cancelled a deal to buy up to 10 of the widebody aircraft due to financial difficulties.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
