Southwest orders record 208 Boeing planes

Boeing will sell Southwest Airlines 208 airplanes, including 150 of its new 737 MAX aircraft, in the largest order ever for the US aerospace giant, the companies said Tuesday.

"Southwest is a special Boeing customer and has been a true partner in the evolution of the 737," Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive Jim Albaugh said in a statement heralding the record deal.

The firm order is Boeing's largest both in dollar value -- nearly $19 billion at list prices -- and in the number of airplanes, the Chicago-based company said.

Southwest, the big budget airline, became the launch customer for the 737 MAX, a re-engined version of Boeing's best-selling airplane that the company promises will reduce fuel consumption.

The order "supports Southwest's initiative to modernize its all-Boeing fleet, the world's largest fleet of 737s," the statement said.

Southwest is set to take delivery of the first 737 MAX airplane when it enters service in 2017.

Boeing said it so far has orders and commitments for more than 900 737 MAX aircraft from 13 customers.

Southwest also ordered 58 Next-Generation 737s. Boeing said that with the Southwest order, the Next-Generation 737 family has won orders for more than 6,600 airplanes, of which it has delivered more than 3,800.

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