Boeing, United Airlines Strike Huge $14.7 Billion Deal

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A passenger checks in at a United Continental Holdings Inc. kiosk.

United Airlines and Boeing have struck a mammoth deal totaling $14.7 Billion. The deal was announced Thursday morning at United Airlines headquarters in Chicago.

“It has taken us almost a year to get to this point, to get the best airplanes with the best engines at the best price, ” said United CEO Jeff Smisek.

United Airlines is buying 150 Boeing 737's , with 100 of them being versions of the new 737 MAX. The remaining 50 are current generation 737’s. While the list price for the new 737's is $14.7 billion, airlines typically wind up paying well below list price.

United says it also has the option to order more Boeing 737 planes but did not say how many or when those orders might be announced.

Boeing CEO Jim McNerney and the President Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Ray Conner flew back to Chicago from the Farnburough AirShow in England to be at the order announcement.

The deal has long been expected, and is another major win for Boeing when it comes to the next generation of single aisle commercial airplanes. Including orders announced earlier this week at the Farnburough Air Show, Boeing has 649 orders for the 737 MAX. By comparison, Airbus has booked more than 1400 orders for its next generation narrow body jet, the A320neo.

Boeing has made winning the United order a top priority. The world's largest airline has a long history with Boeing. If UAL would have ordered A320neo planes, it would have been a second major airline to choose Airbus over Boeing in the last year.

Last July, Airbus cracked Boeing's exclusive relationship with American Airlines and sold 260 A320's to AMR. At that time, American also ordered 200 737's.

-By CNBC's Phil LeBeau
@LeBeauCarNews