Thai Airways has closed a huge order for 45 787 Dreamliner wide-bodies with Boeing, according to Reuters, which also reveals that the announcement should take place by the end of February.
The order, however, has been on Boeing’s backlog since December, but as an unidentified customer. In the manufacturer’s report there is an order for 45 787-9, the intermediate version of the aircraft.
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According to news agency sources, the agreement also includes purchase options that could increase the order to 80 jets.
The large order was reportedly driven by growing demand on long-haul flights to and from Thailand.
Thai has a very diverse long-range fleet, with A330 and A350 jets from Airbus and 777 and 787 from Boeing.
GE turbofans instead of Rolls-Royce
Thai’s new 787-9s are expected to be equipped with GE engines instead of the Rolls-Royce engines used in the Dreamliners currently in the fleet and its Airbus A350s.
The choice of a new engine supplier would have occurred due to disagreements between Thai and Rolls-Royce, due to maintenance costs.
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If confirmed, it will be the second time the UK manufacturer has become the linchpin of failed A350 deals.
In November, Emirates was close to placing an order for the A350-1000 variant, but postponed the deal after falling out with Rolls-Royce over turnaround times for its Trent 900 turbofans.
