Boeing Company’s (BA) business arm Boeing Capital Corp. extended its business relationship with Australia’s premier airline QantasLink by offering five additional 717 modern and efficient twinjets on lease. Currently, the airline operates a fleet of 13 twinjets across Australia.
Boeing is expected to initiate delivery of the 717 aircrafts in late 2013 after upgrading the interiors to offer full business class experience and new in-flight entertainment services.
The company also agreed to provide more 717 jets to Europe’s startup carrier Volotea on lease. This would bring Volotea’s total fleet to 15. In Feb 2012, Boeing and Volotea inked a multi-year deal for the delivery of an undisclosed number of 717 jets on lease.
With the rise in passenger numbers, both QantasLink and Volotea expect Boeing’s refurbished 717s to provide high class reliable services. The Boeing 717 is a short-haul, high frequency 100-passenger airline and has two class configurations with 106 seats.
The flight deck features include an electronic instrument system, a dual flight management system, a central fault display system, and global positioning system. It also has category IIIb automatic landing capability for bad-weather operations and future air navigation systems.
We note that Boeing picked up sizeable international contracts at the Paris Air Show. The resolution of the 787 battery issue also removed a major overhang. The most recent contract in Paris came from Ryanair Holdings plc (RYAAY) for the supply of 175 next generation 737-800 airplanes for $15.6 billion.
Meanwhile, Boeing managed to secure a firm-fixed-price multi-year contract worth $3.4 billion for the construction of the remanufactured and new-build CH-47F cargo helicopters from the U.S Army. Boeing’s multiple contract wins will ensure a stable future earnings stream.
The increase in airline activities around the world has prompted an upswing in aircraft orders which will prove beneficial for the company. Currently, Boeing retains a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other Zacks Ranked #2 (Buy) defense players looking good at the moment are Raytheon Company (RTN) and Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc. (WAIR).
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