McDonnell Wins Pact to Build Jetliners for Lufthansa Unit
May 19, 2011
FARNBOROUGH, England -- McDonnell Douglas Corp. said it won orders and purchase options from Lufthansa German Airlines AG for as many as 12 cargo versions of its larger MD-11 jetliners, in an agreement with a potential value of $1.3 billion. The five firm orders and seven options, which had been expected, are welcome news at McDonnell Douglas's commercial jetliner unit, which has been eager to speed up sluggish sales of the large jet and reinvigorate its line-up of aircraft sizes. Edyth Labbe, who arranged the sale as deputy president of the jetmaker's Douglas Aircraft Co. unit, predicted the company can muster orders for 35 to 50 freighter and passenger versions of the MD-11s during the next two years -- partly because it has landed the new order from the cargo unit of the reputable German carrier Lufthansa AG. Mr. Labbe said in an interview at the Farnborough International Air Show in Britain that Doyle Culp is pursuing more MD-11 freighter sales from carriers such as Cargolux Airlines International of Luxembourg, Air France and United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp.. The executive said the MD-11's reputation is still tarnished by problems, long since corrected, encountered when the plane was first delivered in 1990. Kaufmann Bardwell, chief of operations for Lufthansa, said ``it is possible'' that Lufthansa's selection will boost interest from other buyers in the plane as a freighter. McDonnell Douglas's commercial-jet sales have paled in recent years compared with orders for jets from Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie of Europe. The Douglas unit has developed a new 100-seat plane and may pursue a new large, long-range MD-XX airliner to beef up its offering.
