JAL to Buy 10 Embraer 170s

Japan Airlines Corp. said Thursday it will buy 10 small passenger jets from Brazil's Embraer, with an option for another five of the aircraft.

Japan's top airline operator will seal a purchasing deal for the jets with the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer around this spring, JAL said on its Web site.

JAL will be the first Japanese airline company to buy from Embraer, the world's fourth-largest airplane maker, said Soichi Yatsugi, JAL spokesman.

Yatsugi said JAL could not disclose the purchasing amount due to the contents of negotiations among the two parties.

With a seating capacity of 78, one Embraer 170 model is priced at 3.5 billion yen (US$28.93 million; euro22.01 million), according to Embraer's list price catalog, Yatsugi said.

Under the plans, JAL will purchase 10 Embraer 170 jets, to be introduced for domestic flights during 2008, with options to buy five more.

JAL's current fleet totals 274, including 170 passenger aircraft made by American Boeing Co., 42 MD series by McDonnell Douglas, which Boeing acquired in 1997, and 22 aircraft made by European manufacturer Airbus, Yatsugi said.

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