Originally Posted by
WHBM
In the spirit of accuracy here, they weren't trade-ins as the term is normally understood; they were not used at all, they were brand new aircraft not even built yet. Boeing wanted Airbus to deliver then whitetail, and was looking to market such brand new aircraft off the Airbus production line in direct competition to new Airbus aircraft, to established A340-300 customers. Singapore had got a particularly good deal on their price because they were ordered in a single deal in conjunction with other Airbus aircraft. I believe that Boeing have a comparable agreement with Ryanair, that for the good deal on their 737s they must not sell them off before, or at, delivery.
...implying that the depth of discount from 'list' for that deal is such that Ryanair could reasonably be expected to resell the frames for a profit to customers without the same buying power. More evidence that O'Leary had a barrel of significant size over which to suspend Boeing