Japan Airlines Corp. said Friday it will sign a contract with Boeing Co. of the United States to buy 30 737 jetliners, with an option for 10 more, foiling a bid by Europe's Airbus consortium to break into the U.S.-dominated market.
The nation's largest carrier declined to disclose the price of the deal, which will be signed in the next few months, but said the catalog price for the 30 planes is about 200 billion yen. Airlines usually get discounts on large orders.
The new line of 737s will replace JAL's aging short-haul fleet, including MD-81s and Boeing 737-400s, as each plane is retired, it said. The new 737 series features at least three different models, but the 180-seat 737-800, which has a range of about 4,500 km, is expected to make up the bulk of the order. The older 737-400, by comparison, carries only 150 passengers and has a range of about 3,300 km.