BRITISHAirways is expected to reject offers from Airbus Industrie and British Aerospace and select Boeing’s latest jets for European services (Travel Weekly August 9).
A £2.5bn order for the B717 100-seater is due this month or at the latest in November.
They will be used on short-haul routes, both around Europe and on domestic services, from Heathrow.
Airbus pitched its new A318 to BA, while BAe offered its popular 146 jet which is already used by several UK carriers.
Aviation experts say the A318 is still being considered, but the BAe146 has been ruled out.
BA refuses to say which type it is close to selecting, but insiders expect up to 50 of the B717 to come into the BA fleet.
This will be made up by an initial firm order of around 20 and options to firm up in the future.
A BA spokesman said talks were on going with a number of manufacturers regarding the airline’s renewal of its short-haul fleet. “There is some way to go yet before we make any final decisions,” he said.
The jet will replace larger B757s which BA uses from Heathrow on domestic routes and to key cities around Europe.
BA has 51 B757s. Some will be retained for the airline to use on high density routes such as Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
The rest of the B757s, which can carry up to 235 passengers in an all-economy configuration, are believed to be going back to Boeing in a deal to lessen the cost of a B717 order.
The drop in capacity on some European and domestic routes with smaller jets follows BA’s strategy of cutting down on low-yield economy seats to offer more business seats.
BA has not said how big the Club Europe cabin will be in its 100-seaters, but analysts say some may be configured with all business class to boost revenues.
n The first B717s enter service with Orlando-based AirTran Airways this month. The aircraft have been configured with 12 business-class seats and 105 in economy.