Indonesia's Lion Air confirms $6.2b deal for Boeing 737s, flags 787 jet order

Indonesia's Lion Air Group announced on Tuesday a firm order to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 narrowbody jets worth $6.24b and said it plans to place a provisional order for Boeing 787 widebody jets in the next few weeks. Lion Air, which already has offshoots in Malaysia and Thailand, also plans to establish a new airline in a Southeast Asian country this year, co-founder Rusdi Kirana said. He declined to elaborate on the number of 787s to be ordered or in which country the new airline would be established. An MOU for the purchase of 787s would be announced in "two to three weeks", he said. His comments came after the privately owned company earlier in the day confirmed the purchase of the 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets by announcing a firm order. The jets are worth $6.24b at list prices. The rapidly expanding carrier had in June 2017 placed a provisional order for the jets. Kirana said the Indonesian government's infrastructure expansion, which included airports, was fuelling Lion's demand for more aircraft.<br/>