Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in the airline industry, Monarch Airlines has announced it is in the process of finalizing terms and working towards a purchase agreement for 30 737 Boeing MAX 8s, marking the start of a single-aisle fleet transition for Monarch to Boeing jets.
Monarch Airlines and Boeing announced the forthcoming order at the Farnborough International Airshow 2014, on the first day of the show.
On July 14, 2014, at the Farnborough International Airshow 2014, UK carrier Monarch Airlines confirmed it was in the process of finalizing an order for 30 Boeing 737 MAX jets. This represents a single-aisle fleet transition for Monarch, which has operated Airbus A320-family jets for quite a few years. This computer graphic image shows a Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Monarch Airlines colors
The manufacturer values the forthcoming order at $3.1 billion at current list prices and says it will post it to the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website when the deal finalized.
“Today’s announcement is an important milestone in an exhaustive three year evaluation process, and a key part of The Monarch Group’s transformation and renewal,” says Iain Rawlinson, executive chairman of The Monarch Group, the parent company of Monarch Airlines.
“Boeing truly understood our business and put together a complete package that fits extremely well with our ambitions for the group,” says Rawlinson. “With this announcement, we begin another chapter in our long and fruitful relationship with Boeing, something which now stretches over 40 years.”
“Having reviewed all of the options in the marketplace, we concluded that the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is the aircraft that best fits our future route network strategy, enabling us to tightly control our unit costs whilst offering a superior service to our customers,” notes Andrew Swaffield, managing director of Monarch Airlines.
The manufacturer has accumulated firm orders for more than 2,000 Boeing 737 MAX jets from 42 customers worldwide and calls the launch of the 737 MAX program the most successful in Boeing history.
Boeing chose CFM International LEAP-1B engines for the 737 MAX family.
Headquartered at London Luton Airport, but also operating from five other UK bases, Monarch Airlines predominantly serves holiday destinations around the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, as well as European ski resorts.
Founded in 1968, the British carrier’s passenger numbers reached nearly 7 million in 2013, a record for the airline, which operates a fleet of more than 40 aircraft.
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