Boeing Confirms Deal with Korean Air

LE BOURGET, France (Reuters) – Boeing Co confirmed on Tuesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean Air to sell nine new planes including 747 jumbo jets worth about $1.5 billion.
An industry source earlier told Reuters the deal with Korean Air would include two 747-400ER freighters and seven 777 passenger jets.

“We signed an MOU yesterday and we expect to complete it in the next few weeks,” a spokesman for Boeing confirmed at the Paris Air Show, the industry’s largest showcase.

A Korean Air spokesman also confirmed the agreement but said the details were not scheduled for release until Wednesday. News of the deal comes a day after Boeing arch-rival Airbus SAS landed an order for planes worth more than $12 billion.

Boeing and France-based Airbus are locked in a struggle for orders after slowing growth in the airline sector weakened demand for new planes.

Both companies are developing new products, with Airbus due to deliver the hefty 555-seat A380 in 2006 and Boeing planning the 7E7 Dreamliner to slot into the 200-250-seat range around 2008.

The Korean Air deal would help Boeing keep production of the venerable jumbo rolling while offering solid margins on the 777, a twin-engined, wide-bodied model that has found favor with airlines operating on long routes.

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