General Electric to Buy 100 Planes from Boeing

Boeing

, the aerospace company, announced Tuesday that General Electric

Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has committed to purchasing 75 737 Max 8s and 25 Next Generation 737-800s. According to a

, Boeing is looking forward to working with GECAS to finalize the details of the agreement. "GECAS is a leader in the airplane leasing and financing industry with a successful track record of placing 737 with airlines worldwide," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. "The GECAS leadership team understands the importance of having advanced, fuel-efficient airplanes to meet their customers' needs. This commitment confirms the value of the 737 MAX in today's competitive marketplace." Talking about the 737 MAX, which Boeing describes as a new-engine variant of the world's best-selling airplane that builds on the strengths of today's Next-Generation 737, GECAS CEO Norman C.T. Liu said, "The 737 MAX is a perfect complement to our airplane portfolio. These new Next-Generation 737 and 737 MAX airplanes will continue our long-standing strategy of providing our customers the most fuel efficient, most capable airplanes with the lowest operating costs." The deal, should it be completed, will be the second huge order for Boeing in two days, as United Continental Holdings

already announced a deal to purchase 100 of the 737 jets for roughly $8.4 billion. Boeing is desperately trying to make up ground on rival Airbus, though that company was also able to announce a big deal at the recent Farnborough Airshow in the UK. Hong Kong company Cathay Pacific has put in an order for the long-haul A350-1000, valued at roughly $4.2 billion. According to

, Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier said, "The A350-100 will be a game changer in the 350-seat category, offering outstanding payload-range capability and a 25 percent reduction in fuel burn. As an all-new design, it will outperform existing aircraft in its size category on every count, as well as any future derivatives of those aircraft." On Tuesday, Boeing traded at roughly $74.20, up about 0.3 percent. General Electric traded at about $19.90, down roughly 0.7 percent.