The Boeing 737-700 ER
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), the largest U.S. airplane and defense manufacturer, is expected to report higher first quarter earnings as the sale of more high-profit aircraft types offsets rising pension costs. Boeing

Boeing (BA) signed a record $22.4 billion order Tuesday for 230 aircraft with Indonesian budget airline PT Lion Mentari Airlines.

The deal, signed at the Singapore Airshow, calls for 201 of the 737 MAX aircraft, which is in development, and 29 of the extended-range 737-900 aircraft.

The order is the Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer's largest in both dollar figures and aircraft number. It has recently been expanding its range of fuel-efficient planes, as well as increasing its efforts to sell into the single-aisle aircraft market, which accounts for 60 percent of the global fleet, according to Bloomberg.

The 737 MAX will enter service in 2017, featuring higher fuel efficiency and carbon emissions lower by as much as 12 percent. The 737-line of planes is Boeing's most popular, selling 7,000 of the short- and medium-range versions since the late 1960s. The aircraft's popularity has workers at the company's assembly line in Renton, Wash., producing about one per day.

Lion Air, as the company is commonly known, carried about 27 million passengers last year and is expected to grow at about 15 percent per year. The Jakarta-based airline, the nation's largest private carrier, will hold an initial public offering after it reaches 60 percent market share, possibly within the next two years.

Boeing shares rose 32 cents to $75.17 in midday trading.

Fuel efficiency