Boeing, Air Austral Announce Orders for Two 777-200LRs

Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Air Austral today announced orders for two Boeing Long Range 777-200LR Worldliners. The order is valued at $501 million at average list prices. The airplanes were previously listed on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries website as unidentified.

Air Austral is a French airline based on the island nation of Reunion. Reunion is a vacation locale in the South Indian Ocean and is renowned by outdoor adventurers for its mountainous volcanic interior. Boeing's 777 is touted by travelers to the island for its spaciousness and comfort on longhaul routes and is the overwhelming airplane of choice for inhabitants of and visitors to the island.

"The 777-200LR is the only widebody airplane that can fly nonstop to Paris with a full payload from our short runway on the island of Mayotte," said Gerard Etheve, Air Austral chairman of the Board and CEO. "Because we currently operate 777-200ERs, the introduction of the 777-200LR to our fleet is an easy transition offering the same awardwinning passenger experience, while using the same air crews and common operational support systems."

"Air Austral has a long experience with Boeing products," said Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Its current fleet of two 777- 300ERs, three 777-200ERs and two 737s consistently delivers superior economic value and schedule reliability."

In addition, Air Austral will receive two new 737-800s at the end of 2010, a third leased 777-300ER early next year as well as these two new 777-200LR in mid-2011 and 2012. The longrange 777-200LRs will add performance and capacity to help Air Austral meets its growth objectives.

The 777-200LR Worldliner is the newest passenger version of the 777 with a range of 9,395 nautical miles (17,395 km). It can connect virtually any two cities in the world nonstop. As shown in this example, the 777-200LR also has the best performance on long routes originating from short runways.