IAG orders 71 long-haul jets split between Airbus and Boeing
The airline group announced a new order for 32 Boeing 787-10 aircraft for British Airways, and 21 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. It also disclosed for the first time options exercised in March for six Airbus A350-900s, as well as six Airbus A350-1000s and six Boeing 777-9s.
That gives a total of 33 Airbus jets and 38 Boeing planes.
Hailing a trade deal between the two countries on Thursday, the United States said that Britain would buy $10 billion of Boeing jets. Industry sources also told Reuters that IAG would buy about 30 jets from Airbus, including A330neos and A350s.
IAG, whose airlines also include Iberia and Aer Lingus, said the Airbus A330-900neo aircraft would be powered by Rolls-Royce engines and British Airways' Boeing 787-10 aircraft would be powered by General Electric engines.
Rolls-Royce is the sole engine provider for the A330neo but competes with GE Aerospace for the 787, where it has lost significant market share to its U.S. rival.
IAG announced the order after it reported better than expected first-quarter profit. CEO Luis Gallego told journalists that the company had been working on the new plane deal "for a long time".
Analysts said the order was likely part of a longer-term strategy for the group, given most airlines won't receive current orders until the early 2030s.
"Airlines need to think in multi-year timeframes: they will have planes that will be reaching the end of their lives and will need replacing. Boeing and Airbus are sold out for years," said Bernstein's Alex Irving.
List prices for the A330-900neo and 787-10 are about $374 million and $397 million, respectively, based on January 2025 U.S. dollar terms, but airlines typically negotiate big discounts to official prices. IAG did not give the details of its discount.
IAG also said that British Airways had secured options to buy up to 10 additional Boeing 787s, and that the group had purchase rights for up to 13 more A330-900neos under its agreement with Airbus.
The order adds to an already large backlog of Boeing planes slated for UK purchasers — 149 in total, according to Boeing's published backlog.
Planemakers have been wrestling with supply chain snags and other challenges that have delayed deliveries.
Boeing is trying to ramp up production of its strongest-selling 737 MAX jet to a rate of 38 per month this year, after a difficult 2024 when output slumped due to a broad quality crisis that led to the replacement of its CEO.
IAG, one of the industry's most influential aircraft buyers, is closely watched by rivals, especially as global trade tensions spotlight major aircraft deals.
Bloomberg News on Thursday reported that IAG was poised to order 30 Boeing 787s and could secure options for further purchases.
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This includes the as-yet-unseen Apollo and Athena, which are unrelated to the XQ-58, and are being developed with a particular eye toward the European market, as you can read more about here. Athena, at least, is now in flight testing. 'Valkyrie has flown from multiple U.S. sites in multiple scenarios. Valkyrie, identified by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Marines as a CCA, has collaboratively operated with multiple manned military aircraft and has collaboratively cooperated [with] multiple Valkyries, not surrogates, not computer models, not pretty pictures, actual Valkyrie systems,' DeMarco also said about the XQ-58 during last week's call. 'All of these flights and events have occurred in coordination and cooperation with our military customers. Valkyrie exists, is flying and has been flying since 2019. The Valkyrie is real.' 'This is why Airbus partnered with Kratos. Airbus wants to work with the company that has real flying products and aircraft that have flown with the F-35, for example, and flown with the … F-22. Not just promises. I find it interesting that other companies are routinely making claims of what their systems will be and capabilities it will have. I consistently tell you on these calls what we have done, what we're going to do, we do it, what our systems are, our actual successful missions, and our specific customers.' DeMarco's comments were clearly aimed at the U.S. Air Force's very high-profile Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Kratos was prominently absent from the competition to build the first tranche of CCA drones for the Air Force, with General Atomics and Anduril being selected to develop what are now designated the YFQ-42A and the YFQ-44A, respectively. Both of those designs are expected to fly for the first time this year. General Atomics has been directly leveraging work done already on the experimental XQ-67A, which flew for the first time last year. Kratos has expressed interest in the past in joining the competition for a second tranche of CCAs for the Air Force, the requirements for which were said to have been in the process of being finalized earlier this year. Air Force officials have said they could be looking for designs that are cheaper and less exquisite this time around. 'I have to be very, very careful. I'll never speak for the customer,' DeMarco said last week when asked about this. 'I will say that recently representatives of the Air Force have been saying publicly that maybe less than exquisite, more affordable, and in higher quantities is a better way to go than exquisites that haven't even flown yet.' Whatever the future may hold for the XQ-58 when it comes to the Air Force or other potential customers, Kratos is continuing to invest heavily in the still-growing Valkyrie family, and with an eye toward new markets, including ones outside of the United States. Contact the author: joe@ Solve the daily Crossword
