Qantas plane deal worth $24bn Source: AAP December 14, 2005 QANTAS says it will acquire 115 Boeing 787 aircraft as part of its fleet renewal program in a deal worth up to $24 billion. Qantas (qan.ASX:Quote,News) will take delivery of acquire of the first 65 aircraft from 2008 at a list price of $13 billion. "Obviously with the 115 aircraft it gets up to about $23 to $24 billion," chief executive Geoff Dixon said. The decision follows Qantas' request to Airbus and Boeing in August for twin-engine wide-body aircraft. Mr Dixon said the tender had been very competitive, with excellent options proposed by both Boeing and Airbus. "The Boeing 787 provides breakthrough technology, enabling us to fly further to more point-to-point destinations throughout the world at a cost equivalent to operating larger aircraft like the Boeing 747-400," he said. "One of our clear priorities is for Jetstar to be ready for international operations by early 2007, with the fastest possible transition to new technology, more efficient aircraft." Mr Dixon said Jetstar would commence operations with an interim fleet of four A330-200 aircraft before moving to a fleet of 10 new Boeing 787 aircraft, with delivery of Jetstar's first B787 scheduled for August 2008. Qantas chairman Margaret Jackson said Qantas intended to fund the purchase of the new aircraft from operating cash flow. "These new aircraft are vital for our continued growth in the face of increasing competition in the years ahead," Ms Jackson said. "They will cater for international capacity growth and new routes, as well as replacing the Qantas Group's fleet of wide-body Boeing 767-300s." Qantas (qan.ASX:Quote,News) said it had been unable to find an aircraft that could operate non-stop flights economically between Australia and London and Australia and New York from either Airbus or Boeing. The firm had sought tenders from the two manufacturers for ultra-long range variants of the Airbus A340 and Boeing 777. "Neither the B777 nor the A340 provide an economical solution to our desire to have some of our services overfly mid-point hubs," Mr Dixon said. "As well, our commercial people did not feel the savings in elapsed time between the non-stop and one-stop journey was great enough to appeal to a wide enough passenger base." However, Mr Dixon said it would continue to talk to both manufacturers about long-range aircraft options. Qantas current order is for a mix of B787-8 and later model B787-9 aircraft, with the 787 set to reduce costs through its new technology. "When the B787-9 model is ready for service in 2011, it will represent an even greater engineering breakthrough, flying further than the B787-8 but with capacity for 50 additional passengers," Mr Dixon said. Mr Dixon said the decision would provide substantial economic benefits to Australia, including a $250 million injection into the local economy. "Boeing has also told us that the order could produce total flow- through economic benefits to Australia in the order of $2 billion," he said. "Boeing also expects other airlines to follow Qantas lead in relation to orders for the B787. This will provide an additional contribution to Australian jobs and export dollars." The president of Boeing Australia, Andrew Peacock, said work on the B787 will produce projected exports of around $4 billion based on total projected sales through 2030. Regards, Simon Craig "If it's not McBoeing, I'm not McGoing!"