Singapore Airlines to buy 39 Boeing planes in $13.8bn deal

Boeing has received an order for 39 of its planes from Singapore Airlines, as the carrier aims to grow and modernise its fleet in order to compete with international rivals.

The order will be seen as a setback for Boeing's main rival Airbus, who recently announced that it was reconsidering the building of bigger versions of its A350 wide-body jets.

The purchase will see Boeing provide 20 777-9 models and 19 787-10 models to the Asian carrier.

"Today's major order for widebody aircraft enables us to continue operating a modern and fuel-efficient fleet, providing the SIA Group with additional expansion opportunities to ensure that we retain our industry-leading position," said Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong.

Deliveries of the planes is scheduled to begin as early as in the financial year ending March 2021, the airline said in a statement, adding it also has options to buy six more of each of the two models.

Boeing claimed a significant victory with the order after Singapore Airlines had previously passed up the opportunity to buy the latest generation of 777 models in late 2015.

The Chicago-based company saw its shares rise slightly in pre-market action on Thursday by 0.32%.