Taking advantage of down market prices, United Airlines said on Tuesday it placed a $10 billion-plus order for 50 wide-bodied jetliners divided between Airbus and Boeing Co, in a bid to slash fuel costs and emissions.

United, a unit of UAL Corp, has letters of intent to order 25 of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners and the same number of A350 planes from its European rival Airbus, part of EADS, following a six-month contest. The carrier also has future purchase rights for 50 of each aircraft.
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Bombardier Inc. said Thursday that the parent of regional airline American Eagle ordered 22 jets with a value of $779 million.

Eagle, the regional sister carrier of American Airlines, held options on the planes and converted them to firm orders, said Bombardier said, which is based in Canada.

In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Eagle parent AMR Corp. said it reached an agreement with Canada’s export agency and another party, which it did not name, to provide financing for the full cost of the order. (continue reading…)

Boeing Company, Thursday, announced it would test-fly its 787 Dreamliner later this year but disappointed customers by delaying delivery of the plane until the fourth quarter of 2010.

Wall Street cheered the announcement as Boeing’s stock soared more than 6% in New York trading after the company said it still expects the 787 to be profitable.
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