Air Canada completes deal for 61 Boeing jets
Chicago-based Boeing Co. said Tuesday that Air Canada has finalized an order for 61 planes that carry a list price of $6.5 billion and will bring a change to the carrier's fleet of Airbus single-aisle jets.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Airlines routinely get discounts when buying planes.
The order will include 33 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and 28 of the 737 Max 9 model, plus options and rights to buy 48 more planes.
The Max is still in development. The first flight is scheduled for 2016, with deliveries to airlines expected to begin in 2017. Boeing said it has received more than 1,900 orders.
The plane is designed to be more fuel-efficient than current 737s, a workhorse plane used commonly on domestic routes.
Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu said the planes will reduce his airline's fuel and maintenance costs by more than 20 percent per seat compared to its current one-aisle planes.
According to the Air Canada website, the airline has more than 70 single-aisle Airbus jets but no 737s. It uses the larger, twin-aisle Boeing 777 and 767 jets, however.
Boeing shares rose $2.72, or 2.2 percent, to $128.21 in Tuesday trading. They had fallen 8 percent this year at the beginning of Tuesday's session.