Airbus Triumph in Qantas Deal Strikes Blow at Boeing and Max
- European planemaker clean sweeps order at Australian carrier
- Decision is a blow to U.S. rival and its rehabilitated 737
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Airbus SE’s domination of a multi-billion dollar aircraft order from Qantas Airways Ltd. struck a blow to a resurgent Boeing Co. and its 737 Max just as the aviation industry charts an exit from its worst-ever crisis.
The Australian carrier on Thursday said it will buy 40 Airbus jets with a list price of at least $4.6 billion before discounts, with options to buy an additional 94 aircraft over more than a decade. The planes replace Qantas’s aging fleet of almost 100 Boeing 737s and 717s -- some of them about 20 years old -- that still serve as the airline’s domestic workhorses.