Boeing delivers widebodies to Middle Eastern airlines and wins a 747 order

Boeing delivered two wide-body jets to Middle Eastern airlines and won a 747 order this week, generating some cash for the fourth quarter.

Chicago-based Boeing delivered a 787-9 Dreamliner to Oman Air and a 777 freighter to Turkish Airlines.

Boeing capped off the week by snaring a new order for the $387 million double-decker 747 from an unidentified buyer totaling 4 aircraft , according to its orders and deliveries website.

The new jumbo jet order means more work for the Everett 747 manufacturing line, which Boeing said last year it might shut down.

Airlines pay most of a new jet's price when they receive the aircraft, but also pay deposits when ordering.

"The delivery of our first 777 freighter is a milestone event in our cargo business," Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board İlker Aycı said in a news release.

The Everett-made 777 freighter is based on the 777-200LR (longer range) passenger airplane. It has a $327.5 million list price and can fly 4,900 nautical miles with a payload of 112 tons.

"We're sure that this significant delivery, which will bring great value to our rapidly growing cargo operations, will also enable us to further compete, expand and reach new short- and long-range destinations from our hub in Istanbul," Ayci said.

Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines' cargo operation has increased its freighter destinations from 55 to 73 in 2017 and increased cargo by 29 percent to about one million tons, Ayci said.

Turkish Airlines carries over 60 million passengers a year, with direct flights to 300 destinations in 120 countries.

Boeing also delivered another Dreamliner to Gulf carrier Oman Air. That stretch 787-9 has a list price of $270.9 million.

Oman's Ambassador to the U.S., Hunaina Sultan Al Mughairy, traveled on the jet's inaugural flight from the South Carolina Dreamliner plant to Muscat on Dec. 6, according to an Oman Air news release.

The new jet has 288 seats, including 30 flat-bed business class suites designed by BE Aerospace, and 258 economy seats.

It has a state-of-the-art Thales Integrated In-Flight Entertainment System designed and developed specifically for Oman Air.

With this latest Dreamliner, Oman Air said it operates a fleet of seven Boeing 787 jets. The new jet will be used to fly passengers on Oman Air’s European and Far-Eastern routes, the airline said.

(Andrew McIntosh - Puget Sound Business Journal)