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EasyJet selects Airbus over Boeing
LONDON, England (CNN) -- EasyJet, Europe's biggest discount airline, said on Monday it would buy 120 planes from Europe's Airbus SAS rather than from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing, its current supplier. The carrier said it also has an option to buy 120 more A319 planes from Airbus, which is 80 percent owned by European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS). The UK's BAE Systems owns the remaining 20 percent. EasyJet will take delivery of the A319 aircraft beginning in September 2003. "After exhaustive research and several rounds of negotiation with both Airbus and Boeing, the Board is convinced that we have achieved a tremendous deal which will produce a step-change reduction in our cost base," the airline said in a statement. "We believe that the overall deal which they have offered us, together with their willingness to support the costs of introducing a new aircraft type to our fleet far outweigh the costs of the complexity of running a dual fleet." Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Based on existing price lists, the deal could be worth about $6.2 billion. However, easyJet Chief Executive Ray Webster told CNN the purchase price would be "a lot less than that," adding that the Airbus deal would cost about 30 percent less than previous Boeing purchases. EasyJet and Go-Fly -- its former rival which it bought earlier this year -- currently have a combined fleet of 64 Boeing 737 aircraft. Ryanair, the other major European discount carrier, also uses 737s. Last week, easyJet said its passenger numbers more than doubled in September, helped by the purchase of Go. EasyJet has seen steady recovery in business after a big drop in air travel following the September 11 attacks in the United States, as well as the global economic slowdown. Shares in easyJet (EZJ) were down 3.4 percent to 268 pence in mid-morning trading in London on Monday. EADS (PEAD) fell 5.9 percent to 9.56 euros in Paris, while BAE (BA) was off 1.1 percent to 198 pence in London.
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