El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) has announced the largest-ever procurement program for new aircraft in the company’s history. The Israeli national carrier will conduct exclusive talks with Boeing for the purchase and leasing of 15 Dreamliner wide-bodied planes 787-8 and 787-9 planes with an option for an additional 13 of the aircraft. The first planes will be delivered in mid-2017.
The cost of the planes including spare engines is estimated at $800-900 million. Estimates are that half of the aircraft will be purchased outright.
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El Al said that the planes will replace its current Boeing 747-400 and 767 fleet over the next five years for medium-long haul flights (to New York, Boston, Toronto, Bangkok, Beijing, Mumbai, South Africa and more).
“El Al’s board today authorized the company to hold talks with Boeing over the acquisition of wide-body Dreamliner aircraft for the purchase and lease of 15 planes in the next five years, ” El Al CEO David Maimon said. “This measure will be a major leap forward in the optimization of our flight routes, serving passengers and the flight experience.”
“The Dreamliner will be an excellent addition to El Al’s all-Boeing fleet and marks another chapter in a partnership between our two companies that spans over half a century, ” Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Officer Ray Conner said.
El Al also reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2015. Profit grew 6.2% to $17.3 million from $16.3 million in the corresponding quarter of 2014. Revenue fell 10.7% to $511 million compared with the corresponding quarter.
