Air India orders 470 jets, including 220 from Boeing
Record sale will help airline reinvent itself, become international carrier, officials say
Air India announced a 470-plane order with Airbus SE and Boeing Co. in what stands to be the largest purchase in commercial aviation history, underscoring the industry’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the airline’s ambition to become a global force after years of contraction.
The carrier will purchase 250 Airbus jets, 210 A320neos, 40 A350s and 220 Boeing models comprising of 190 737 Max, 20 787s and 10 of its largest 777X, according to announcements Tuesday. The previous single largest jet order was a 460-plane deal by American Airlines in 2011.
The Airbus part of the deal was announced in an online briefing that also was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, while U.S. President Joe Biden announced the Boeing commitment a few hours later.
Air India has “significant options” to increase its Airbus order as the carrier grows, Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said, while Boeing said the carrier may eventually add 50 more 737 Maxes and 20 787s.
The long-awaited transaction, the final contours of which were reported by Bloomberg last week, will help Air India reinvent itself by stocking its ranks with a fuel-efficient fleet that can take on domestic low-cost rivals and powerful Gulf airlines. Airbus no longer publishes list prices while Boeing claimed the order was valued at $34 billion at list price.
“The time is right for India to turn into an international hub,” Guillaume Faury, the Airbus chief executive officer said in the briefing with Modi. “India is well on its way.”
Air India will begin receiving the A350s before the end of this year, Christian Scherer, Airbus’s sales chief, said in an interview Tuesday. The initial batch of six planes were being built for Russia’s Aeroflot PJSC, which is no longer able to take aircraft due to sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine. It also is ordering 34 of the larger A350-1000 model that Scherer says will give it the ability to offer nonstop services “deep into all the continents of the world.”
According to Biden, the Air India order is Boeing’s third biggest sale of all time in dollar value and second of all time in quantity.
The U.S. manufacturer projects that India will need 2,210 new planes over the next two decades, a number that’s broadly in line with Airbus’s forecast for the country. By comparison, China remains a far bigger market for Boeing — it expects the country will need 8,485 new aircraft through 2041.
Boeing’s win in India contrasts with its performance in China, where the company has essentially been frozen out of new orders amid recent geopolitical turmoil and the grounding of the 737 after two deadly accidents in rapid succession. China used to take a quarter of Boeing’s 737 output and it’s been more 3 ½ years since a mainland Chinese airline took delivery of a new jet from the company.
Cost of a dozen eggs more than pound of ground beef
The price of a dozen eggs in the U.S. exceeded the cost of a pound of ground beef.
The global bird flu has wiped out about 100 million poultry and high production costs have pushed the price of a carton of 12 eggs to a record $4.82 in January, up from less than $2 a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the price of a pound of ground chuck has fallen to $4.64 from a 2022 peak of $5.12 in August.
Chicken producers also are trying to do their part to bring down egg prices by selling 400 million surplus eggs to food producers.
First, they have to convince the Food and Drug Administration to change the rule that prevents eggs laid by chickens in the meat industry to be used for human consumption.
The National Chicken Council trade group submitted a formal petition to the FDA last week asking officials to drop a rule passed in 2009 that keeps chicken producers from selling their excess eggs because they aren’t refrigerated right away.
The FDA said it would review the council’s petition and respond directly to that group.
Ex-BBB workers not getting severance
Former Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. employees say they have received their delayed severance pay as the troubled retailer catches up on overdue payments after securing an against-the-odds equity deal last week.
Some of the former employees said they received their lumpsum severance payments at the end of last week. Those payments had been delayed since at least mid-January when Bed Bath & Beyond said it was dismissing an unspecified number of employees to continue to cut costs.
Other former employees received an email Feb. 8 from human resources that said, in part: “Funds are being processed and expected to be transferred to the bank account associated with your payroll information,” according to copies of the email viewed by
Bloomberg. “We apologize for the delay and sincerely appreciate your patience as we have worked to resolve.”
Former Beyond Meat COO pleads guilty
Beyond Meat’s former Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, resulting in three years of probation, a $1,000 fine and 160 hours of community service.
Ramsey, who was also ordered to take anger management classes, was arrested in September following an altercation in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in which he allegedly bit a man’s nose in a parking garage after a college football game. He was suspended from his role and ultimately departed Beyond Meat soon after the incident.
Ramsey didn’t respond to a request for a comment.
Inflation report sends markets zig-zagging
Several sharp reversals for stocks left Wall Street mixed Tuesday after a report showed inflation is continuing to slow, but perhaps not as quickly or as smoothly as hoped.
The S&P 500 finished the day virtually where it started, edging down by less than 0.1%, after swerving between gains and losses. The Dow lost 156 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq went on the widest run. It finished 0.6% higher after ricocheting between a loss of 1.1% and a gain of 0.9%.
The two-year yield rose to 4.61% from 4.52% late Monday. It initially zig-zagged up, down and back again after the release of the inflation report.
The 10-year yield, which helps set rates for mortgages and other loans, rose to 3.75% from 3.70%.
Restaurant Brands International, which operates Burger King and Tim Hortons restaurants, fell 2.7% after reporting weaker earnings than expected.
Avis Budget Group jumped 10.7% after easily topping analysts’ profit forecasts.