IAG To Order 18 More 787s

International Airlines Group (IAG) confirmed on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Boeing that calls for the conversion of options on eighteen 787s to a firm order.

Already holding a firm order for 24 Dreamliners for its British Airways subsidiary, IAG plans to use the 18 additional airplanes to replace some of BA’s Boeing 747-400s between 2017 and 2021.

For Spanish subsidiary Iberia, IAG has reached agreement with Boeing to secure commercial terms and delivery slots that “could” lead to an order for an unspecified number of 787s. “The creation of IAG has resulted in greater buying power for both airlines through joint procurement and we have been able to obtain delivery slots for Iberia as part of British Airways' order,” said IAG chief executive Willie Walsh. However, IAG said it would place firm orders only when Iberia has restructured, cut its costs and positions itself to grow profitably. Workers at Iberia called off plans for the third in a series of walk-outs in late March after the Spanish government persuaded them to accept new contract terms from IAG. Originally proposing to shed more than 3,800 more jobs, IAG agreed to pare that number to about 3,150. Two weeks later the then-CEO of low-fare unit Iberia Express, Luis Gallego, replaced Rafael Sanchez-Lozano as Iberia’s chief executive.

Although IAG hasn’t yet specified what variant of 787 its latest order for 787s will involve, it did choose Rolls-Royce Trent 1000s to power the airplanes.

The order remains subject to approval by IAG shareholders.

Separately, Boeing announced an agreement with Sberbank of Russia and its wholly owned subsidiary, Sberbank Leasing, on an order for twelve 737-800s. Sberbank intends to lease the airplanes to Moscow-based airline Transaero.

Valued at more than $1 billion at current list prices, the deal will help lay the groundwork for developing an environment for finance and operational leasing of imported aircraft in Russia, said Boeing.