From IAG a record-breaking order for Boeing and Airbus: shower of long-haul planes coming for British, Iberia and Aer Lingus
There is something for everyone: British Airways first and foremost, but also Iberia, Aer Lingus and Level. That is, for all airlines [...]
Iberia
British Airways
Aer Lingus
Oneworld
There is something for everyone: British Airways first and foremost, but also Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Level. That is, for all the companies in the International Airlines Group that operate long haul.
In this article:
IAG announced in recent hours one of the largest dual-aisle aircraft orders ever placed by a European airline or group (except for Turkish Airlines), ordering from Boeing Thirty-two 787-10s and by Airbus twenty-one A330-900s..
The group also 'unlocked' options to receive six additional A330-900s (destined for Iberia), six A350-1000s, and six Boeing 777-9s (all destined for British Airways). The latter eighteen aircraft will be delivered between 2027 and 2033, while those ordered from scratch in recent hours are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2033.
And new orders from U.K. carriers for Boeing can be expected in the coming months, after the trade agreement announced Thursday by the United States and Britain also includes orders for U.S.-made aircraft from British companies worth another $10 billion.
The new planes will both enlarge the fleets of IAG's carriers and renew their fleets, as Parts of British and Aer Lingus' fleets suffer from obsolescence, more or less pronounced.
In British's case, the most urgent renewal is certainly that of the 59 Boeing 777-200ERs, which have an average age of over 21 years and many mount an on-board product that is completely outdated.
In the case of the Irish carrier, more than half of the A330-200s and A330-300s have an average age ci about 20 years.
British Airways already has 11 Boeing 787-10s in its fleet, which are in a low 'density' configuration in as many as four classes of service, with 8 seats in First, 48 in Business, 35 in Premium Economy and 165 in Economy (for a total of 'only' 253 seats, when normally 787-10s are set up for 300-330 passengers).
It is possible, if not likely, that at least some of the 32 ordered now will arrive with a different configuration that in terms of capacity and product offerings is more similar to the Boeing 777-200ER.
