Don't worry, no danger of that!
They'll simply use Airbus to gets better deal out of Boeing, as thy always do...


Agree! The article simply said replacment for the 744s as well...

They can buy the 788 to replace the 767s, the 789s to replace the 772s, and the 787-10s to replace the 744s (though much smaller)

Let's hope LY will not take A330s... By the time they get them, they will be too old. I hope they will buy 787s...

Intrsesting haartez article
http://www.haaretz.com/business/el-a...emium-1.435613

Summary of Boeing deal:
1: Elal will but two more B737-900 ER at the cost of $100 million.
2: Elal will get a loan from Boeing of $40 million, putting up 2 planes it bought in 2012 as collareral.
3: If Elal chooses the A330 not the B787 as its plane of the future, most of the loan must be repaid by the end of 2012.
4: Elal has started soliciting bids from both Boeing and Airbus for the purchase of 16-18 planes at the cost of $2.4 billion - $2.7 billion.

Thanks for the link.
I hope it will be the 787!

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Unless they can get the A330s within a much shorter timeline in which case it might be a better decision.

Anyway, not going to happen as they just won't choose Airbus and if they did I'll be more than happy to eat my hat...

Why are you so sure they won't choose Airbus? Do they have a "gentleman's agreement" with Boeing, or can they add certain safety features to Boeing that they can't to Airbus, or is it simply not worth their while, since they already have all-Boeing, so it's not worth training new pilots?

Politics...

Can you expound? LY doesn't want to support European companies, the government wants LY to supports American companies...?

Bingo!

ElAl might not be a government owned company anymore but let's not kid ourselves that the pressure to buy American won't be on because it will, and Boeing will end up making LY some offer they cannot refuse, which is exactly what Happens every time.

I seem to recall some pretty upset Airbus executives the last time a bid for fleet renewal had ended with the rumours that the game was sold in advance in Boeing's favour, and that there was no chance Airbus cold win due to politics amd all that, but who knows, maybe I'm wrong and LY is a different company now, but while I've seen recent photos of Shkedi all buddy buddy with Boeing's CEO but haven't seen any with Airbus's...

Personally I would love them to get some A330 in, it's a great aircraft (even if my AA captain cousin doesn't like the whole 'Fly by wire' thing...) so much quieter and specious than the 767 - a pleasure to travel on, though I'm sure the 787 will be very special.

Israel in general buys many more things from Boeing than just passenger airplanes. I am in 100% speculation mode, but my guess is high prices can be paid with American defense dollars in exchange for lower prices for other items which cannot be paid with those funds.

First off, Airbus, if they know they won't get the deal anyways, should either "punish" LY for using them as a pawn by refusing to bid, forcing LY to pay higher than they want, or should "punish" Boeing by lowering their profits by seriously underbidding in the hopes Boeing will drastically reduce prices, lower the gains significantly.

I don't want the A330, not because it's not a nice aircraft, but because it's going to be outdated by the time LY gets some, even if they order now. At this point, the 787 simply makes a lot more sense. Yes, the A330 can be really nice, as demonstrated on US and LX especially. Best C cabin (US), and for a 3-cabin airline, one of the best C cabins for maximizing both passenger comfort AND maximizing seats.

Boeing's 777 and 787 models are fly-by-wire airplanes. The 747-800 uses extensive fly-by-wire technology.

Yes I'm very much aware of that sorry, should have phrased that better!

There are differences in the way Fly By Wire is applied at Boeing vs Airbus...

Basically Airbus has taken a very different philosophical approach to using computers than Boeing. Airbus have designed their new fly-by-wire aircraft with built-in protections or hard limits.

Boeing on the other hand, believes pilots should have the ultimate say, meaning that on their Aircrafts the pilot can override onboard computers and their built-in soft limits, and I think it is the difference in Basically.

approach .that my cousins objects to (Well the Airbus approach...).

Bay the way, he flies 777s...