Boeing may close a $ 5 billion deal with Bamboo Airways by ordering 12 777X jets. The information was revealed by the chairman of the Vietnamese airline, Trinh Van Quyet, to Bloomberg. According to the executive, the deal could be announced in the second quarter and bring relief into the US airframer’s battered backlog.
Founded in 2017, but flying only a year ago, Bamboo Airways has a fleet of 25 aircraft, most of which are models of the A320 family, including the new Neo generation. However, its long-range routes use the 787-9 Dreamliner , whose first three planes were recently received.
Bamboo is due to debut its first flight to Europe, the city of Prague, in the Czech Republic, in late March. The airline’s ambition is to have a fleet of 50 aircraft by 2020.
No orders
If the deal closes, it will be an important addition to the 777X order list. Largest twin-engine commercial jet in history, Boeing is delayed in its development program due to problems with the new GE9X turbofan.
The inaugural flight of the 777-9 variant only took place on January 25, after several postponements. Boeing plans to deliver the first planes in late 2021 to Lufthansa, the aircraft’s launch customer, which has the capacity to carry up to 426 passengers and is 20% more economical than previous versions of the “triple-seven”.
The year 2020 began in the most difficult way for the US airframer that ended January without counting a single order for its commercial aircraft. Only 13 aircraft were delivered last month, a situation that had not occurred at Boeing in a long time.
