For a while, it seemed as if we would have to wait for quite a long time before seeing large aircraft orders again. The pandemic and its repercussions slowed down travel demand, particularly long-haul, and less need for new planes was predicted to last for some time.

But despite an expected economic downturn, airlines are demonstrating confidence in the future of both the short-haul and the international travel market. Just a few days ago, United Airlines placed the largest widebody order in North American history. Let's take a look at this and some of the other most significant aircraft orders the industry has ever seen.

Sealing the deal

Large orders understandably often draw significant attention for both airlines and manufacturers. They are often unveiled jointly at airshows, but not always. Such deals and the detailed pricing, though, are not always made public. Discounts from list price are the norm when airlines order aircraft (especially when the orders are as large as the ones in this article). Reportedly, a reduction of up to 50% for the largest orders is not uncommon.

Another important point to note is that orders change. Announced orders are often reduced later, or airlines may switch aircraft to other types. The deals listed here are based on orders as they were initially made. Since we have covered United's groundbreaking order extensively recently, we will save the details of that deal for a little later.

Boeing 777X order from Emirates - $76 billion in 2013

Ahead of United's pre-Christmas shopping spree for up to 200 Dreamliners, the most significant widebody order in recent history came from Emirates in 2013. The Dubai-based airline's order for 150 new Boeing 777X aircraft was valued at $76 billion. This comprised 35 777-8 and 115 777-9 aircraft. It remains the largest order for this exciting new aircraft, which, unfortunately, has had its entry into service date pushed back several times, causing the Gulf carrier to have to reassess some of its fleet plans.

In 2019, Emirates reduced the order by 24 aircraft, committing to take up the 787 instead. However, Emirates' President, Sir Tim Clark, has said he wouldn't mind waiting longer for the 787s if it meant that Boeing would get the 777X ready for him faster. According to the latest intelligence, Emirates will get its first Dreamliner in 2024, whereas the first 777X will arrive with airlines in 2025.

American Airlines - 460 aircraft and $38 billion in 2011

The world's largest airline, American Airlines, also holds the record for the most aircraft ordered at the same time. In 2011, the carrier announced the purchase of 460 narrowbody aircraft from both Airbus and Boeing. This included 260 Airbus A320 jets, and 200 Boeing 737 family aircraft, all to be delivered from 2013 to 2022. The deal was valued at over $38 billion at the time.

Gerard Arpey, former chairman, president, and chief executive officer of AMR Corporation, parent company to American, said at the time of the dual order,

"...given our aggressive and ambitious fleet plans, we feel fortunate to have both Boeing and Airbus standing beside us to meet our needs."

Airbus A320neo order from Indigo Partners - $49.5 billion in 2017

Airbus' largest order to date came from US private equity fund Indigo Partners in 2017. This was for 430 A320neo aircraft, specifically 274 A320neos and 156 larger A321neos.

The company has the advantage of being able to spread the aircraft over several airlines. This allows flexibility in its order (it does not need to confirm the exact airline split) and likely increased negotiating power. The aircraft will be shared between four low-cost carriers on three continents:

• Frontier Airlines (US)
• Wizz Air (Hungary)
• Volaris (Mexico)
• JetSmart (Chile)

This order went further in 2019 with a memorandum of understanding order for 50 A321XLR aircraft (18 converted from the existing order). Wizz Air plans to take 20 of these and Frontier 18, which will drastically change the mission capabilities of both carriers and open up new markets.

Airbus A320neo order from IndiGo - $33 billion in 2019

Not to be confused with Indigo Partners, Indian airline IndiGo also has placed a huge Airbus order. This came in 2019 with an order for 300 A320neo family aircraft.

The airline has expanded dramatically in recent years. With the delivery of A320 aircraft in late 2019, it became the largest airline in India, and this growth continues as more aircraft are delivered. It plans to become an all-A320neo airline in the coming years.

This order also includes the A321XLR, although it is unclear how many. The A321XLR offers colossal potential for IndiGo, with a range of 4700 nautical miles enabling routes to London, European cities, most of Africa, and even Perth. Meanwhile, a recent wet lease agreement for Turkish Airlines' Boeing 777s could influence the airline's final A321XLR product.

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Boeing 737 MAX - Lion Air - 230 aircraft in 2012 for $21.7 billion

Several airlines and lessors have made large orders for the 737 MAX - Southwest Airlines has 281, flydubai and Lion Air both have 251, and VietJet has 200 (an incredible order for an airline with only 73 aircraft at the time it was placed). In June 2021, United Airlines announced an order for 200 MAX jets, along with 70 planes from Airbus. Together with the recent Dreamliner order, the carrier added another 100 MAX aircraft to its books.

However, as these orders have all been made over several years and added to one after the other, Lion Air takes the lead for the largest single order (albeit just barely) when it agreed to purchase 201 737 MAX aircraft in February 2012 (it then added 50 more in 2017). It also ordered 29 737-900 aircraft at the same time, in what Boeing referred to as its largest commercial aircraft order to date, with a list price of $21.7 billion.

Despite being one of the airlines tragically affected by the MAX's malfunctioning MCAS and the recent downturn in travel across Asia, last we heard, Lion Air said it was still committed to the order. The carrier took delivery of the first MAX since the type's grounding in 2019 just this summer.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 737 MAX - United Airlines in 2022

United's landmark order placed in December 2022 can hardly have escaped anyone even remotely interested in aviation - or the economy, for that matter. While some prophets of woe are forecasting a recession, United Airlines said its data points to no such thing and splurged away on the largest widebody order in the history of US aviation.

One hundred Dreamliners, with an option for 100 more, plus 100 MAX narrowbodies (44 exercised options, 56 new units). None of the parties have disclosed the exact value of the deal, but at list price, it would total more than $37 billion.

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Honorable mention - Pan Am's 747 order in 1966

Pan American World Airways worked with Boeing closely on the 747 and committed to a $500 million order for aircraft in 1966 (equivalent to over $4.1 billion in 2022).

It may not be the largest ever aircraft order, but this was a very significant order at the time. It was a major catalyst in the development of the jumbo, and without it, it may never have happened - and where would we have been then? OEMs, of course, still consult their customers, but such close collaboration between manufacturers and airlines is unusual today.

There are plenty of interesting, important, or large aircraft orders over the years. These are just a few of the largest ever placed. Feel free to discuss these or how they have changed since being placed in the comments.