El Al must make Airbus, Boeing order decision soon, CEO says

DUBAI (Reuters) - Israeli airline El Al must make a decision soon on placing an order for narrow-body jets with Airbus and Boeing or otherwise risk losing delivery slots, its CEO said.

Airbus and Boeing are locked in negotiations with El Al to win an order from the Israeli flag carrier for around 30 aircraft to replace and expand its fleet of narrow-body jets.

"We will probably want to take a decision soon, otherwise we're going to lose the slots," El Al Chief Executive Dina Ben Tal Ganancia told Reuters at an airline conference in Dubai.

The Israeli carrier, which operates an all Boeing wide- and narrow-body fleet, has been assessing Airbus' A321neo jets against Boeing's comparative 737 MAX aircraft for the order.

Ben Tal Ganancia did not say when exactly the airline would make a decision and said that negotiations were continuing with both planemakers. Chief Financial Officer Yancale Shahar last week told Reuters the airline would decide within a few weeks.

Shahar said an order would be worth about $2 billion.

Ben Tal Ganancia said the airline would hope to start receiving the narrow-body jets it orders from 2026-27, although she acknowledged that Airbus was sold out until about 2029.

Boeing, meanwhile, is facing a crisis over major industrial and safety issues that have led to an overhaul of management, scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and delays in producing new jets.

Ben Tal Ganancia said she believed Boeing had no other choice than to transform the company and fix the many issues it faces.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Jonathan Oatis)