A Spanish airline, Air Europa placed an order with Boeing Commercial Airplanes for 14 of its 787-9 Dreamliners, a contract carrying a total value of $3.6 billion at list prices. It’s an order placed in December and previously announced without naming the customer.
Air Europa is transitioning to a fleet comprised entirely of Boeing aircraft, and has orders in place for eight Next-Generation 737-800s and 22 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliner jets.
In addition, Air Europa selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 high-bypass turbofan jet engine options for the new Dreamliners, with Rolls’ TotalCare long-term service support program — a package worth $1.1 billion, according to Rolls-Royce. Eight of the Dreamliners it has on order will enter service in 2016 with Trent 1000 engines.
"We have plans to further expand our long-haul service and the Trent 1000 will deliver excellent economics through its performance and support service," observed Juan Jose Hidalgo, president of the Air Europa holding company, Globalia.
Air Europa is one of the largest airlines in Spain, with over 40 destinations across Europe and the Americas. Throughout its history, Air Europa has operated 737s, 757s and 767s and currently has a combination of 30 Next-Generation 737-800s and 787 Dreamliners on order from Boeing.
"Since its beginning, Air Europa has always operated the most contemporary airplanes available to the market. With the steps we are taking, we will become an airline with the most modern fleet in the world," Hidalgo said. "The first 787-8 Dreamliners will start to arrive in 2016, this will allow us to grow both the number of flights and destinations we will operate to by around 50 percent."
The 787 Dreamliner is Boeing’s top-of-the-line, wide-body, twin-engine aircraft, with long range and carrying capacity for 210 to 330 passengers. Boeing also describes the 787 as its most fuel-efficient commercial jet, with a structure based on a large volume of composite materials helping to reduce fuel consumption by up to 20% versus similar-size jets.
There are three design variants of the Dreamliner, currently: the 787-8 (debuted in 2011; 161 jets delivered to-date), 787-9 (debuted in 2013), and 787-10. Assembly of the first 787-10 is scheduled for 2017.
