El Al Israel Airlines said on Wednesday it was opening talks with Boeing to buy and lease up to 15 new Dreamliner aircraft over the next five years in a deal that could be worth $800-$900 million, its biggest-ever plane order.The airline said delivery of the new fuel-efficient 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft would begin in the first half of 2017 through 2020. The planes will replace a fleet of aging 747-400 and 767 aircraft and will operate on medium- and long-haul routes, including lucrative North American and Asian destinations."El Al's board today authorized the company to hold talks with Boeing over the acquisition of wide-body Dreamliner aircraft for the purchase and lease of 15 planes in the next five years," chief executive David Maimon said in a statement.El Al said it expects the talks to be completed in the next few weeks and the final price would depend on how many planes it ends up buying.In addition to the $800-$900 million order, El Al, which has been active in buying short-haul 737-900 aircraft, has an option to acquire 13 other aircraft from Boeing but it did not elaborate.
