MONTREAL: Air Canada announced Wednesday it had placed a firm $6.5 billion order for 61 Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body aircraft, with options on 18 more planes and purchase rights for 30 others.
The order -- which comes as the airline seeks to replace its aging Airbus A320 and A321 fleet -- concerns 33 of the MAX 8 version of the 737, and 28 of the MAX 9 aircraft with substitution rights between them as well as for 737 MAX 7 aircraft.
The country's biggest carrier said it was also weighing replacing 25 of its Embraer E190 fleet with other aircraft that can seat 100 to 150 people.
Deliveries for the Boeing order are due to begin with two aircraft in 2017, with 16 the following year, 18 in 2019, 16 in 2020 and nine in 2021.
Air Canada said the move would create "one of the world's youngest, most fuel-efficient and simplified airline fleets."
"Our narrowbody fleet renewal program is expected to yield significant cost savings," Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu said in a statement.
The airline estimated that the purchase would generate a 10 percent reduction in cost per available seat miles compared to ots existing narrowbody fleet.
Air Canada, based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, plans to grow its fleet from 192 aircraft to about 214 by the end of 2019.
The airline said it has 13 options and rights to purchase 10 Boeing 787 aircraft, rights to purchase 13 Boeing 777 aircraft, in addition to the 18 options and 30 purchase rights for Boeing MAX aircraft.
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