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Airbus lands $2.8B BA deal
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August 25, 1998: 10:07 a.m. ET
British Airways options could lift order to 188 planes valued at $11B
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Breaking away from its long-held loyalty to Boeing Corp., British Airways Tuesday ordered its first fleet of Airbus Industrie planes and said it may triple that number in the coming months.
BA ordered 59 A320s valued at $2.8 billion and took options for another 129 planes down the road. If all options are exercised, the deal could be valued at nearly $9 billion.
The airline, which so far has purchased only Boeing planes, didn't leave Boeing out in the cold entirely. BA also ordered 16 long-haul Boeing 777s and took options for 16 more in a deal worth up to $5 billion.
The purchase prices don't include any discounts BA (BAB) may have negotiated.
This order for Airbus and Boeing (BA) jets represents the largest number of aircraft ever ordered by British Airways at one time and the largest single commitment yet made to the European consortium by any airline outside of the U.S.
BA already has a small number of Airbus planes in it fleet that it acquired when it bought British Caledonian 10 years ago. The company said its decision to go with Airbus was driven by price. Airbus beat out Boeing in a competitive contract bid.
Deliveries of the 59 firm Airbus orders will begin in September 1999. The deal also benefits British Aerospace PLC, which makes the wings for the Airbuses.
"British Airways is a long-time valued Boeing customer and our largest customer outside of the United States," said Ron Woodard, president of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. "We are delighted that British Airways chose the 777-200 to meet the increasing demand they are experiencing for frequent point-to-point service in the long-haul market." 
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British Airways
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