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Continental Airlines Inc. said Tuesday that it has ordered 34 airplanes, with a list price of $3 billion, from Chicago-based Boeing Co. to increase its ability to serve long-haul routes and remove gas-guzzling planes from its fleet.Chairman and Chief Executive Larry Kellner said the Houston-based airline plans to expand its passenger-carrying capacity 5 percent to 7 percent per year.
Continental said it was ordering 10 more Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, doubling its previous orders. That would make it the largest U.S. buyer of Boeing's latest wide-body jet, which is scheduled to go into service in 2008, a Boeing spokesman said.
The airline also ordered 24 more Boeing 737s and will have 213 next-generation 737s when all the planes it has ordered are delivered.
Continental didn't disclose how much it will pay for the 34 planes. The jets would have a total price tag of about $3 billion based on current list prices, but airlines rarely pay sticker price when placing large orders.
Continental has been ordering more fuel-efficient aircraft for the past several years, believing this would give it an advantage over rivals whose planes use more costly jet fuel.
Separately, Boeing said it will bid again for a contract to build sensors for a new weather-satellite system, after the Air Force canceled the original award amid rising costs.
The cost of the program increased by 66 percent, to $13.8 billion, primarily because of "technical challenges" in developing sensors and subsystems, the Defense Department said in April. The rising costs triggered a review that led to the decision to drop Boeing's sensor, the Air Force said.
Chicago Tribune
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