Bombardier
According to the Wall Street Journal's Jon Ostrower, United Airlines is finalizing a deal to purchase a batch of narrowbody airliners from Boeing.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told the publication that United is set to go with the Chicago-based airplane maker instead of Bombardier.
A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
Should the present deal go through, it would mark the second time this year that the Chicago-based United Airlines would choose Boeing over its two smaller rivals.
In January, United announced that it would order 40 Boeing 737-700 jets instead of the Bombardier C-Series.
Last week, Bombardier and its Boeing-challenger C-Series jet ended is year-long sales drought after Air Canada announced it would order 45 of the Canadian jets with an option for 30 more.
At list prices, the 45 airplane deal is is valued at $3.7 billion while the 30 plane option could add an additional $2.5 billion to the deal.
While the Air Canada sale is seen as a major step forward for the C-Series program, critics of the deal cite the airline and the airplane makers' close relationship with the Canadian government as the driver for the deal. As a result, industry observers believe Bombardier still needs to land an order from a major North American airline in order for the C-Series to gain market validation.
We have reached out to United Airlines and Bombardier for comment.