Here's an interesting little rumour...
I heard that when AI were sitting at 45 orders, with a "commit" at 50, the next five ordered were from....
BOEING!
They figured that by ordering the 5 they couldn't lose.
1. 40% discount = huge profit if it's successful and other airlines start a scramble for it. They'll resell and pocket half a billion.
2. 50 orders pushed AI into committing to the project. If it caused them to lose their shirts, then Boeing wins anyway.
Comments, anyone?