HONG KONG: Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said on Wednesday it would place a US$8.1 billion order for 14 Boeing jets, its first with the US aircraft maker for more than a decade.
The airline said in a filing to the city’s stock exchange it would “purchase 14 Boeing 777-9 aircraft” and had “secured the right to acquire up to seven additional Boeing 777-9 aircraft”.
The new order expects the aircraft to be delivered by 2034, according to a separate filing.
Cathay was one of the first buyers to commit to Boeing’s 777X programme when it unveiled the purchase of 21 aircraft in 2013.
Boeing said in a statement the new deal brought the order book of 777-9 aircraft — “the world’s largest twin-engine airplane” — to 35.
The jets, designed to reduce fuel use and emissions, would meet Cathay’s growing global travel demand, it said.
“Boeing certainly had a troubled period in the recent past, but we are very encouraged by the renewed focus that Boeing leadership has on engineering and production quality,” Cathay’s operations and service delivery officer Alex McGowan told a news conference.
Cathay already has a fleet of more than 230 mostly passenger aircraft, consisting of Boeing and Airbus jets.
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