Boeing nears $5bn in Max 10 deals with Asian airlines

Bloomberg

Boeing Co. is closing in on about $5 billion in orders from two Asian carriers for its longest-ever 737, people familiar with the matter said.
The US planemaker is discussing a deal with India’s SpiceJet Ltd. for about 20 of the 737 Max 10 aircraft, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Indonesia’s Lion Mentari Airlines PT is studying an order for at least 20 planes and perhaps as many as 50 from a combination of commitments and conversions of existing orders for smaller 737 Max jets, the people said.
The deals may be announced as early as next week, when Boeing is likely to unveil plans for the Max 10 at the Paris Air Show. The Chicago-based manufacturer is seeking a groundswell of orders to catch up to the fast-selling A321neo, Airbus SE’s largest narrow-body jet, which is capturing routes once
dominated by Boeing’s out-of-production 757.
Negotiations haven’t been finalized, and agreements involving Boeing, SpiceJet and Lion could be delayed or fall apart, the people said. The 737 Max 10 is expected to sell for a little more than the shorter Max 9, which has a list price of $119.2 million before discounts that
are customary for aircraft
purchases.
Boeing is in talks with other companies including United Airlines for the Max 10, Bloomberg News reported last week.
Doug Alder, a Boeing spokesman, declined to comment. Representatives of SpiceJet and Lion didn’t immediately comment outside normal business hours.

Blue Air may buy 20
Boeing 737 Max Aircraft
Romania’s Blue Air is in talks to buy Boeing Co.’s 737 Max, the latest generation of the US company’s biggest-selling model, with an announcement possible at the Paris Air Show next week, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Bucharest-based airline is considering purchasing at least 20 planes, worth $1.84 billion at list prices, and chose the Boeing narrow-body over Airbus SE’s competing A320neo, according to one of the people. The order could be for as many as 50 aircraft, though it’s unclear how many of those may be options.
Blue Air and Boeing declined to comment.
The deal would roughly double Blue Air’s fleet, which consisted of 25 older-generation 737s as of the end of last year. The expansion would bolster the carrier’s competitiveness with the likes of Budapest-based Wizz Air, as well as with Europe’s biggest discounter Ryanair Holdings Plc and rival EasyJet Plc, which have all been adding routes in central Europe.
Boeing delivered its first 737 Max, a version equipped with a more fuel-efficient engine than the previous model, to an affiliate of Indonesia’s Lion Mentari Airlines PT in May. The model is expected to be a focal point of the Paris Air Show, where the Chicago-based manufacturer is likely to unveil the Max 10, its largest-ever 737.