Another Boeing Win: WestJet Posts Huge 67 Aircraft Order

WestJet has confirmed that it has placed a large order for up to 96 Boeing aircraft. The deal will see the acquisition of both new 737 MAX and 787 aircraft. The new order brings the airline's total order book to 123 aircraft and 40 options, which should fulfill fleet needs for almost a decade. Hailed as the largest order in the airline's history, it shows that the carrier is serious about competing with its arch-rival Air Canada. With the early September order, WestJet has the largest order book of any airline in the country. Commenting on the deal, Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, remarked, We are honored that WestJet has once again placed its trust in Boeing with a major investment that builds on our three decades of partnership and solidifies their fleet for the decades ahead. We look forward to supporting WestJet's exciting growth as they leverage the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner. As we noted at the introduction, WestJet says that its fleet needs have now been secured for almost a decade. The Canadian carrier says that the addition of the order will carry its fleet growth through to 2034. This is because the order builds on a previous commitment to Boeing. According to the planemaker's order book, as of July 31st, WestJet had outstanding orders with Boeing for 58 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. WestJet and its regional brands currently have 193 active aircraft. This consists of 147 Boeing 737s, or 76%, 7 Boeing 787-9s, 4%, and 39 de Havilland Dash 8s, or 20%. While the outstanding order book would almost double the airline's fleet size, the airline likely isn't going to use the aircraft solely for fleet expansion. Indeed, we imagine that some of the new jets will be used to replace older aircraft as they reach the end of their service with the Canadian airline. It's no secret that Boeing has been struggling over the past six years following the deadly MAX crashes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently the Alaska Airlines door plug incident. However, the American planemaker does seem to be bouncing back. This order from WestJet is just the latest in a string of notable orders reported by Boeing. In the past month or so, we've seen aircraft lesser Macquarie place an order for 30 737 MAXs, and Korean Air commit to a large order for 103 aircraft. Cathay Pacific also somewhat recently ordered more Boeing 777-9 airframes for its future fleet. It will be exciting to see what WestJet does with its long-haul operations and a larger 787 fleet. Already, it has used the type to compete with Air Canada in the transatlantic market, and is a relatively newcomer with its trans-Pacific operations. Will it look at South America in the future? Or use the new 787s to offer more destinations and frequencies for Europe and or Asia? We'll just have to wait and see. But what do you think of this big order from WestJet? Let us know by leaving a comment. If you're looking for the latest aviation news and insights, visit SimpleFlying.com.