Boeing signs latest deal with Air Lease Corporation

Boeing has announced at the Paris Air Show a memorandum of understanding with Air Lease Corporation to purchase 33 airplanes.

The Los Angeles-based leasing company has committed to order three 787-9 and 30 787-10X Dreamliners.

In a statement to press, Boeing said it looked forward to working with ALC to finalise the details of the agreement, at which time the airplanes will be posted to the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website as a firm order.

“We are thrilled to announce our commitment for 787-10Xs and additional 787-9s,” said ALC chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy.

“Both of these airplanes possess the characteristics our airline customers desire by providing the ideal size, capabilities and economical operating costs for their medium to long-haul markets.

“We believe the performance characteristics of the 787-10X will build on the 787 family’s success in the marketplace.”

ALC expects to begin taking 787-10X deliveries in 2019.

The 787-10X would be the third version of the popular 787 family, with a range of up to 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km) and seating for 300-330 passengers, depending on an airline’s configuration choices.

The second member of the family, the 787-9, is in final assembly in Everett, Wash., and set to make its first flight later this year.

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easyJet signs with Airbus for 135 new planes

Low-cost airline easyJet has agreed to buy 135 new planes from European manufacturer Airbus in a deal worth approximately £10 billion.

The deal will see easyJet take 35 current-generation A320 aircraft and 100 new-generation A320neo jets, with options for a further 100.

The deal is a blow to American rival Boeing, which had also been pitching for the deal in the build up to the Paris Air Show this week.

easyJet said 85 of 135 ordered aircraft will be used to replace ageing aircraft as they leave the fleet and return to lessors, with the remaining aircraft used to continue easyJet’s existing strategy of capacity seat growth of between three to five per cent per annum.

Carolyn McCall, easyJet chief executive, commented: “All manufacturers competed hard for the easyJet business. Both Airbus and Boeing offered us new generation aircraft that met our requirements and offered greatly improved fuel efficiency.

“Ultimately, Airbus offered us the best deal, and at a price with a greater discount to the list price than their landmark fleet purchase with easyJet in 2002.

“These arrangements combined with easyJet’s cost advantage, leading network and compelling customer proposition mean that easyJet is uniquely positioned to be a structural winner in European aviation.

“This is a great outcome for easyJet, our shareholders and our passengers, and will ensure that easyJet is able to continue its successful strategy of delivering profitable growth and returns to shareholders.”

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N.Y. Governor Andrew Cuomo signs deal for 2014 book

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a swearing-in ceremony in the War Room of the Capitol in Albany, New York January 1, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Groll

NEW YORK | Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:14am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, considered a possible Democratic contender for the U.S. presidency in 2016, has signed a deal to write a biography that publisher HarperCollins said on Tuesday would be a "full and frank" look at his private and public life.

The publisher said it has acquired world rights to the as-yet untitled book, which it expects to be on the shelves in 2014.

The book will cover his years growing up in Queens, New York, his tenure as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton and his election to the state's top office in 2010.

"He will reveal the story of his history and will share personal and private moments that shaped his life: his father's legacy, his personal trials and tribulations, and his role as a father to his three girls, twins Mariah and Cara and his youngest, Michaela," HarperCollins said in a statement.

Cuomo's father, Mario, also served as governor of New York.

Cuomo, 55, was married to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, for more than a decade until their divorce in 2005. He lives with his girlfriend, Food Network host Sandra Lee, in Westchester County in New York.

The book will also cover his four years as New York's attorney general before becoming the state's 56th governor.

Cuomo will discuss several major events during his governorship, "from signing same-sex marriage legislation to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and his subsequent work with President Obama to help those who were ravaged by the storm," according to HarperCollins.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; editing by Jackie Frank)

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