FedEx said Thursday it has signed a deal to buy 27 new Boeing 767-300 aircraft.

The jets have a list price of $4.7 billion but, after standard discounts, they have an estimated value of $2.1 billion, according to data from aircraft-valuation firm Avitas.

The 767s will be about 30 percent more fuel-efficient than the MD-10 jets they're replacing, some of which are more than 40 years old, FedEx said.

Three of the new jets will be delivered in fiscal 2014 and six a year from 2015 through 2018.

FedEx will delay receipt of 11 Boeing 777s now on order. Two will be deferred from fiscal 2013, five from 2014 and one a year from 2015 through 2018, FedEx said.

The company is also exercising two options for 777 jets, which will be shipped at the end of its delivery schedule.

Boeing worked with FedEx "for months" on the schedule adjustment, said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Albaugh.

"They did slide some airplanes out, and we were able to slide other good customers into those positions," Albaugh said in an interview in New York.

"In fact, this really solidifies our skyline in the out years, so this worked well for them and worked well for us," he said.

FedEx originally planned to use the 777s on international markets where it now uses MD-11s, sliding the older jets into domestic slots filled by MD-10s, said Chief Executive Fred Smith.

When Boeing continued production of its 767 model, FedEx decided to use that aircraft to replace MD-10s domestically and continue using the MD-11 internationally, he said.

Also Thursday, FedEx posted a quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates as U.S. consumers, bolstered by a better labor market, increased holiday orders from online retailers.

Profit for the three months through November rose 76 percent to $497 million, or $1.57 a share — topping the $1.53 average estimate of analysts.

Sales climbed 10 percent to $10.6 billion, in line with estimates.