Silk Way West Airlines to buy three Boeing 747-8 freighters

Completing the transaction would be a boost for Boeing’s biggest, most-expensive model after 2014 ended with no net orders. That was the first annual shutout since the four-engine plane became available in 1966, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The companies are working toward a purchase agreement that would be valued at $1.1 billion at list prices, Chicago-based Boeing said today in a statement, without giving a projected timetable. Azerbaijan news media outlets reported earlier that the transaction was final.

Boeing has struggled to land orders for the 747-8, which debuted in 2011. It’s the latest version of the aircraft that opened up intercontinental travel to a mass consumer market in the 1970s and 1980s. Last month, Boeing said it will cut monthly 747 output to 1.3 by September from the current 1.5.

Silk Way West is a unit of Baku-based Silk Way Holding, which includes 23 companies working in the aviation industry and related services. The airline took delivery of two 747-8 freighters in 2014 and operates five other Boeing models.