SEATTLE, 14 Aug. 2011. Asian commercial air carriers ordered 21 passenger jetliners and freighters this past week from large jet aircraft manufacturers Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle and Airbus in Toulouse, France. Of the two orders 16 of the 21 aircraft purchased are twin-engine widebody jet aircraft.Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong ordered eight Boeing 777 Freighters and four 777-300ER (extended range) passenger jetliners last Wednesday, and Thai Airways International Public Company Limited in Bangkok, Thailand, ordered four A350-900 widebody passenger jets and five A320 narrow-body aircraft last Thursday.Cathay Pacific's 777 order from Boeing is worth $3.3 billion at list prices, Boeing officials say. The air carrier becomes the 15th customer to order the 777 Freighter and increases its Boeing 777-300ER fleet to 50. Thai Airways, meanwhile, is a new Airbus customer for the A350-900 and A320. Thai will use the A-350s on long-haul services to Europe and will use the A320s on domestic and regional routes, Thai officials say. Thai also is leasing eight A350-900s and six A320s from third party lessors.
Cathay Pacific now has 36 Boeing 777s in backlog, and operates 35 777s purchased directly from Boeing. The 777-300ER is a long-range twin-engine jetliner that can seat as many as 365 passengers on flights as long as 7,930 nautical miles. Thirty-four aircraft operators around the world have ordered more than 500 777-300ERs.
The Boeing 777 Freighter will serve Cathay Pacific on cargo routes between Hong Kong and other destinations in the Asia Pacific region. The 777 Freighter can fly as far as 4,900 nautical miles without refueling with a payload of 225,200 pounds.
