South Korea's Jeju Air orders 40 Boeing planes worth $4.4B

Boeing has landed its biggest plane order ever from a South Korean airline.

Jeju Air, South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, purchased 40 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes worth $4.4 billion, the airline said on Tuesday.

Reuters exclusively reported earlier this month that Jeju Air was in talks with Boeing and Airbus to buy 50 jets.

The airline planned to expand its network that includes one of the world's busiest routes.

The contract also includes an option to buy an additional 10 aircraft, Jeju Air said.

The airline operator said it planned to take delivery of the planes between 2022 and 2026.

Six South Korean budget carriers saw the number of passengers using international routes quadruple to 20.3 million in 2017 from 4.9 million in 2013, according to South Korea's transport ministry.

The company currently operates 58 routes with 38 Boeing 737-700 planes.