More jobs for US..Boeing..

[pampango]

3. Boeing locks in biggest plane order ever, valued at $22.4 billion, with Indonesia’s Lion Air

The Chicago airplane manufacturer said Tuesday that it has finalized an order from Indonesian carrier Lion Air for 230 planes — worth a combined $22.4 billion. The deal is the largest commercial airplane order ever for Boeing Co. by both dollar value and number of airplanes. Lion Air also has the rights to buy 150 more.

Securing the Lion Air order is a big win for Boeing because it was considered something of a long shot when it was first announced in November. The order will more than quadruple the current fleet at Lion Air, who has had a long history of safety concerns.

The 737 Max is Boeing’s answer to the Airbus 320neo, another plane with new engines that are designed to boost fuel efficiency. That plane is due in service by late 2015.

Boeing has been building versions of the short- and medium-range 737 since the late 1960s. It has sold about 7,000 of them, making it the company’s most popular plane ever. Workers on Boeing’s assembly line in Renton, Wash., make about one every day. The company plans to boost production by roughly one-third in 2014 to meet new orders.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/boeing-locks-in-biggest-plane-order-ever-valued-at-224-billion-with-indonesias-lion-air/2012/02/14/gIQAnZSHDR_story.html