International Airlines Group unveiled plans Friday to purchase 71 long-haul aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, dividing a substantial fleet renewal and expansion between the aerospace rivals just one day after Britain and the United States announced a new trade deal.
The parent company of British Airways will acquire 32 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners for its flagship carrier, while ordering 21 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft to be distributed among its other airlines including Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL. The announcement also disclosed previously unrevealed options exercised in March for 18 additional aircraft: six Boeing 777-9s, six Airbus A350-900s, and six Airbus A350-1000s.
“This is a milestone and would strengthen our core market,” said Luis Gallego, Chief Executive of IAG, who told journalists the company had been working on the plane deal “for a long time.”
Industry analyst Alex Irving of Bernstein noted the long-term strategic nature of the purchase, explaining that “airlines need to think in multi-year timeframes: they will have planes that will be reaching the end of their lives and will need replacing. Boeing and Airbus are sold out for years.”
The announcement aligns with comments made Thursday by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who revealed during the announcement of a bilateral trade agreement that Britain would purchase $10 billion of Boeing jets. The timing suggests the aircraft order may have been coordinated with the trade negotiations.
According to industry sources, list prices for the A330-900neo and 787-10 are approximately $374 million and $397 million respectively, based on January 2025 terms. However, airlines typically secure substantial discounts from these figures, and IAG did not disclose details of its negotiated price.
The significant purchase includes options for additional aircraft, with British Airways securing rights to buy up to 10 more Boeing 787s and the group holding purchase rights for up to 13 additional A330-900neos. The new Boeing aircraft will be powered by General Electric engines, while the Airbus planes will use Rolls-Royce powerplants.
Of the 53 newly ordered aircraft, 35 will replace aging planes in the fleet or substitute for short-term leases, with the remaining 18 dedicated to growth in IAG’s primary markets. Deliveries are scheduled between 2028 and 2033, reflecting the extended production backlogs both manufacturers currently face.
The announcement came as IAG reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial performance, with the airline group nearly tripling its operating profit compared to the same period last year.
For both Boeing and Airbus, the order represents welcome business at a time when both manufacturers continue wrestling with supply chain disruptions and production delays that have complicated their efforts to ramp up aircraft deliveries following the pandemic slowdown.
