Greater Bay Airlines (GBA) and Boeing today announced an order for 15 737-9 airplanes. The agreement also includes a commitment for five 787 Dreamliners to support GBA’s long-term plan to launch international long-haul service.
Boeing started March with a couple of orders, which saw the MAX backlog grow by seventeen aircraft and that of the 787 potentially by five. The orders were announced from Greater Bay Airlines and Luxair.
Greater Bay Airlines has ordered fifteen MAX 9s and signed a “commitment” for five 787s. The airline is based in Hong Kong and launched services only in July, having been established in response to the Chinese Central Government’s strategy for developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
It operates three Boeing 737-800s leased from ICBC and flies to Bangkok, Taipei, and Tokyo but plans to grow its network out of Hong Kong to Mainland China and other major cities in Asia. A key driver for growth is the completion of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) next year. This should “further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international aviation hub and as a connecting point into the Greater Bay Area,” the airline says on its website.
Luxair
Luxair, the airline of Luxemburg in Europe, will lease two MAX 8s for the coming summer season but has placed a direct order with Boeing for two more. The aircraft are meant for fleet renewal, offering the airline lower fuel consumption and emissions. Luxair operates a fleet of four 737-700s over sixteen years old, plus four 737-800s almost nine years old. It also has eleven De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s for regional operations.
(Update: on April 28, Luxair said that it has ordered another two MAX 8s, bringing the total to four)
