Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) has committed for six new Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft. The prospective deal will have to be finalized into a firm order. Boeing (Chicago) issued the following statement this morning:

Boeing, the Lufthansa Group and Swiss International Air Lines announced a commitment today for six 777-300 ER (Extended Range) airplanes. The airplanes, valued at $1.9 billion at list prices, were selected for the airline’s long-haul fleet renewal. Boeing looks forward to working with Swiss to finalize the details, at which time the order will be posted to the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website.

The Boeing 777-300 ER is the largest long-range twin-engine commercial airplane in the world, seating up to 386 passengers in a three-class configuration and has a maximum range of 7,825 nautical miles (14,490 km).

On the financial side, the company issued this statement:

Swiss International Air Lines generated total income from operating activities of CHF 5,033 million in 2012, a 2% increase on the previous year (2011: CHF 4,927 million). But with the market environment still difficult, operating profit for the year fell 31% to CHF 212 million (2011: CHF 306 million). The CHF 27 million operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2012 was, however, an improvement on the CHF 18 million of the prior-year period. Swiss has also announced that its Airbus A340 fleet will be phased out from 2016 onwards. To this end, orders have been placed with Boeing for six Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.

 
Swiss International Air Lines generated total income from operating activities of CHF 5,033 million for 2012, a 2% increase on the CHF 4,927 million of the previous year. Annual operating profit declined 31%, however, to CHF 212 million. Swiss achieved an operating profit of CHF 27 million for the 2012 fourth-quarter period, a CHF 9 million improvement on the CHF 18 million of October-to-December 2011.

 
Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin. Swiss currently operates a fleet of 15 older and less fuel efficient Airbus A340-300s. The new additions will start to replace the older Airbus long-range fleet. A340-313X HB-JMK (msn 169) lands at San Francisco International Airport in the updated 2012 livery which features larger and bolder titles.

Swiss International Air Lines: