GECAS has committed to ordering 10 Boeing 787-10X aircraft, ahead of the formal launch of the latest 787 variant.
The aircraft, to be powered by GEnx engines, will be delivered from 2019 to 2021. The deal is valued at $2.9 billion.
The order is the first 787-family order for the US lessor. GECAS chief executive Norman Liu says the aircraft will be an ideal replacement for the Airbus A330, A340 and Boeing 777. There are several hundred operators of these types, he notes.
Major carriers who operate the 787-8 and -9 will also be target customers to lease the -10X, Liu tells Flightglobal. "It's a very strong plane for transatlantic and routes in Asia," he adds.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive and president Ray Conner, asked when the -10X will be formally launched, says: "Not quite yet." But he indicates that it could come during this week's Paris air show.
Once finalised, the 787-10X order will take GECAS's total Boeing orders to 598 since 1995, says the aiframer. The lessor has taken delivery of 444 of these aircraft.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
