IAG Orders 71 Wide Body Airbus & Boeing Jets For Fleet Renewal

International Airlines Group (IAG), which is the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, LEVEL, etc., has just gone on a massive shopping spree, to renew its long haul fleet. I don’t think there’s anything surprising here, and there’s one aspect of this that I’m particularly happy to see.

IAG orders A330neos, A350s, 777Xs, 787s

IAG has placed a firm order for 71 wide body jets. This order includes:

• 32 Boeing 787-10s, which are intended for British Airways
• 21 Airbus A330-900neos, which are intended for Aer Lingus, Iberia, and/or LEVEL
• Six Boeing 777-9s, which are intended for British Airways
• Six Airbus A350-1000s, which are intended for British Airways
• Six Airbus A350-900s, which are intended for Iberia

Note that technically, 53 aircraft (787-10s and A330-900neos) are considered new orders, while 18 aircraft (777-9s, A350-900s, and A350-1000s) simply represent the exercising of options for existing orders.

The 53 new aircraft are expected to be delivered between 2028 and 2033. They’re mainly for fleet modernization, though the airline group claims that roughly one-third of the orders are for growth in IAG’s core markets.

It’s worth noting that this order has been promoted as being part of the new trade deal between the US and UK. However, clearly that’s just a convenient way to make headlines and give politicians credit, given that the order also includes Airbus jets, IAG is a Spanish registered company, and many of these orders are going to airlines in Ireland and Spain.

My take on IAG’s wide body aircraft order

I don’t think there’s anything terribly surprising here. When it comes to British Airways, it makes sense for the airline to order more 777-9s, 787-10s, and A350-1000s, given that the company has dozens of aging 777s that eventually require replacing. The airline hadn’t ordered all that many 787-10s and A350-1000s, and they’re both great planes with awesome economics, so it makes sense to scale those fleets.

Iberia already has a substantial fleet, but it sounds like the airline will be leaning into that aircraft even more, as it eventually starts to retire existing A330s, and maybe even pick up some A330-900neos.

Speaking of that, I think the A330-900neo order is the most interesting development here. It’s states that those jets are going to Aer Lingus, Iberia, and/or LEVEL. Aer Lingus’ wide body fleet consists of 13 A330s, with the A330-200s being an average of 22 years old, and the A330-300s being an average of 11 years old. Those planes will eventually need to be replaced, so I sure hope that the plan is to fully modernize that fleet with A330-900neos.

I’m delighted to see a wide body fleet renewal plan for Aer Lingus, since it’s often the neglected airline in the group (sort of like Austrian in Lufthansa Group). The A330-900neo seems like a great fit for Aer Lingus, and I’m curious to see what kind of an onboard product the airline will offer. At least my hope is that this is how that plays out, and that most of the jets don’t go to Iberia.

Bottom line

IAG has just placed a huge wide body aircraft order, to renew the long haul fleets of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL. This order includes additional 777-9s, 787-10s, and A350-1000s for British Airways, as well as additional A350-900s for Iberia. Then there are A330-900neos going to Aer Lingus, Iberia, and/or LEVEL. I’d consider the last part of that order to be most exciting, and I hope this means there’s finally a plan for Aer Lingus to refresh its wide body fleet.

What do you make of IAG’s huge aircraft order?