United, Southwest buy 73 Boeing jets in blow to Bombardier

United said Thursday it will buy 40 small planes from Boeing, dealing a US$3.2b blow to Bombardier's hopes of landing a major customer for its fledgling CSeries program. Separately, Southwestsaid it had ordered 33 of Boeing's 737-800 aircraft, a deal it struck in December but announced on Thursday. Reuters reported last week that Boeing was poised to snatch at least part of United's order for small jets that seat about 100 passengers. Boeing 737-700s can seat 126 people and will be flown by United's pilots, reducing its reliance on contractors as a shortage of regional pilots looms in the United States. Canada's Bombardier has not landed an order in more than a year for the CSeries, a new carbon-composite aircraft whose two models seat between 100 and 160 passengers and are equipped with fuel-efficient Pratt & Whitney engines.<br/>