Air Berlin cancels $5 billion Boeing order to cut costs

Air Berlin Plc said it's canceling a 33-plane order with Chicago-based Boeing Co. valued at $5 billion at list prices to reduce investment costs.

Dropping the contract to take delivery of 18 737 airliners and 15 787 Dreamliners "will significantly reduce capital expenditure," and the carrier will lease or purchase other planes for any capacity expansions, the Berlin-based company said today in a statement.

Air Berlin, which is partly owned by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways PJSC, has sought to cut spending and refinance debt after losses ballooned and traffic dropped. The company is Germany's second-largest airline, behind Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Lavell in Frankfurt at tlavellbloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxellbloomberg.net; Benedikt Kammel at bkammelbloomberg.net Tom Lavell, Benedikt Kammel