Boeing confirms big deal

Photo provided by Flickr/ dirkjankraan.com

737 Boeing plane

Chicago-based Boeing has received its biggest deal to date.The airplane manufacturing company is selling 230 planes for $22.4 billion dollars to Lion Air, Indonesia's largest private airline. The bulk of the purchase is dedicated to Boeing’s fuel saving 737 MAX model planes. Lion Air is buying 201 of them.  

Aviation consultant Scott Hamilton said the order gives Boeing a big boost.

"What this does for Boeing - it solidifies the future of the 737 line. It gives them a good tough competitor against Airbus and its A320," he said.

Airbus, currently the world's largest airplane manufacturer, Boeing has been lagging right behind the company. Hamilton said there has been a tough rivalry between Boeing and Airbus since Airbus introduced its A320 plane in 1988.

"So this is a real horserace that Boeing is still behind,” Hamilton said. “But Boeing is going to be catching up and as we go forward, I think you’ll see roughly about a 50/50 market share split."

Meantime, Joe Schwieterman, an aviation expert at DePaul University, said the deal with Lion Air gives Boeing an advantage internationally.

"We’ve been expecting major orders coming out of the developing world," he said. "No doubt this sell is probably the beginning of additional sells from the Asian market, which is very strong right now."

Schwieterman acknowledged that Airbus has been trying to push its products into the international market, “but the fact that Boeing has had a couple of victories in a row here means there is something about Boeing that just works for international markets.”

He said the 737 MAX model is perfect for the Asian market because of it's shorter trips and ability to turn aircrafts around for high productivity.

Boeing’s 737 MAX has gathered more than 1,000 airplane orders and commitments from 15 customers. Boeing is expected to deliver the planes in 2017.