Australia’s Qantas Airways announced Thursday it’s switching from Boeing to Airbus as its preferred supplier, in a major win for the European planemaker.
The airline said deliveries would start in mid-2023 and continue over the next decade, replacing an aging domestic fleet of Boeing planes with more eco-friendly aircraft.
The announcement caps a successful week for Airbus, which also locked in an order with Singapore Airlines and looks set to finalize another with Dutch airline KLM.
Losing Qantas deals a big blow to Boeing’s 737 MAX, interrupting a strong sales run since the jet was cleared for flight late last year following a safety ban.
Boeing, which will only continue to supply its 787 Dreamliners, said it was disappointed in Qantas’ decision, but that it looked forward to continuing its decades-long partnership with the airline.
Meanwhile, Airbus said it was honored by Qantas’ selection.
In a statement, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said he was not concerned that the airline would grow overly reliant on Airbus, weakening its ability to play the manufacturers against each other for better pricing going forward.