CIT GROUP ORDERS 5 MORE DREAMLINERS

The Boeing Co. won an order from CIT Group Inc.'s aerospace unit for five more 787 Dreamliners valued at about $810 million at list prices.

The deal doubles the number of 787s ordered by CIT to 10 planes, Boeing said Thursday. Boeing also said it delivered 31 next-generation 737s to CIT and has unfilled orders for 10 next-generation 737s from the New York-based company.

Boeing has 642 orders for the Dreamliner and will debut the aircraft Sunday.

CIT Aerospace leases aircraft to airlines including Etihad Airways of the United Arab Emirates. Boeing is counting on the 787 to win back leadership of the $60 billion-a-year jetliner market from Airbus, whose competing A350 XWB will enter service in 2013, five years after the Dreamliner.

Boeing also won an order for two 787s from Uzbekistan Airways, the company said Thursday on its Web site. It disclosed an order for one 777 from Delta Air Lines Inc., the airline's first order since 1997.

Boeing posted orders for 12 of its 737 model aircraft on the site without identifying a customer.

The company now has a total of 544 orders through July 3, exceeding the 493 planes ordered in the first half of last year. The company set a record in 2006 with orders for 1,044 commercial planes, winning back the lead Airbus held for five years.

Boeing also said Thursday it delivered 114 commercial airplanes in the second quarter, its highest total since 2001.

The deliveries ran the aerospace company's total through the first half of the year to 220, leaving it on target to reach its full-year estimate of 440 to 445.

Boeing's deliveries for the quarter included 86 737s, 21 777s, four 747s and three 767s.

The last time it had a higher total was the fourth quarter of 2001, when it delivered 144 commercial jets.

The world's No. 2 maker of commercial planes behind Airbus is on pace to overtake its European competitor in deliveries by early next year.

This report includes information from The Associated Press and Bloomberg News.

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