BA has announced firm orders for 11 fuel-efficient aircraft.

British Airways’s (BA) wholly-owned subsidiary, CityFlyer, has placed a US$376 million (£254m) order for 11 new generation fuel efficient aircraft – six Embraer 170 and five Embraer 190SR jets – which will operate out of London City Airport from September 2009.

The new aircraft are up to 56% more fuel efficient and have significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions than the RJ fleet currently being used by CityFlyer. They also feature more passenger space, due to their ‘double-bubble’ fuselage design.

Peter Simpson, BA CityFlyer’s Managing Director, said: “We are very excited about this new fleet of fuel efficient aircraft which will not only help us to meet our environmental objectives but also provide more space and comfort for our customers.

“Having the combination of the Embraer 170s and 190SRs in the same fleet will give us greater flexibility, enabling us to match capacity with demand on routes within our existing and future network.”

CityFlyer operates all BA routes within the UK and Europe from London City Airport.

Meanwhile, BA has announced that it has ended its discussions with Qantas regarding a possible merger. In a statement, BA said: “Despite the potential longer term benefits to both British Airways and Qantas, the airlines have not been able to come to agreement over the key terms of a merger at this time.”