International Airlines Group (IAG) has called a shareholder meeting to approve the group's purchase of 50 Boeing 737 MAX and 37 Airbus A320neo aircraft. The meeting will take place in Madrid on October 25th and October 26th.

IAG calls 737 MAX and A320neo meeting

IAG has called an extraordinary shareholders' meeting for next month, with the group's Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo orders on the agenda. Shareholders will be asked to vote on the acquisition of 50 Boeing 737 MAX and 37 Airbus A320neo aircraft, orders which were announced during the summer.

Vueling Airbus A320neo
Photo: Marvin Mutz via Flickr

The meeting will begin on October 25th in Madrid, with the issue of IAG's MAX and A320neo orders likely to fall on the second day on October 26th.

IAG said,

"The Shareholders' Meeting is called in accordance with the following agenda: 1] Approval of the proposed purchase of 50 Boeing 737 family aircraft; 2] Approval of the proposed purchase of 37 Airbus A320neo family aircraft; 3] Delegation of powers to formalize and execute all resolutions adopted by the Shareholders' Meeting."

IAG expects the first MAX deliveries to take place in 2023 should the deal be approved, followed by A320neo deliveries starting in 2025. The order MAX order is worth $6.25 billion at list prices, but IAG was able to negotiate a significant discount. The same is true of its A320neo deal, which would cost around $4.8 billion without discounts.

IAG's short-haul fleet renewal

IAG first signaled its interest in the Boeing 737 MAX by signing a letter of intent (LOI) with Boeing at the Paris Air Show in 2019, at the time intending to purchase 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for LEVEL and Vueling.

The airline group then firmed up its interest in the MAX this year, placing an order for 50 Boeing 737 MAXs - 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10s and 25 Boeing 737 MAX 8-200s - with an option for another 100 aircraft.

Aer Lingus A320
The new aircraft will be shared across the IAG airline portfolio. Photo: Aer Lingus

In July, IAG announced it would also be ordering 37 more Airbus A320neos as it accelerates its short-haul fleet renewal drive. This agreement involves 12 conversions from a previous order, 25 new A320neo orders and the option for a further 50 aircraft.

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Return to profitability on the horizon

IAG CEO Luis Gallego has predicted that every airline under IAG is set to return to profitability this year. The airline group posted a profit of €293 million ($285 million) for the financial quarter between April and July, a huge turnaround on the €967 million ($943 million) losses last year.

Gallego said,

"We foresee all the airlines of the group to make profits again this year."

As for the Boeing 737 MAX, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Boeing $200 million this week for misleading investors over the MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. It is unclear whether this will have any effect on IAG's decision to invest in the MAX.

Do you think IAG has made the right choices with its fleet renewal program? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.