Four Chinese airline companies have agreed to buy 42 Boeing 787 jets for a total of $5,04-billion, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
China’s flag carrier Air China and China Eastern Airlines will each buy 15 planes, Shanghai Airlines will buy nine planes and Xiamen Airline will buy three planes, the report said.
The purchase comes ahead of an expected visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the United States in September and is a coup for Chicago-based Boeing over European arch-rival Airbus SAS.
In January, six Chinese airlines signed an agreement with Boeing to order 60 of its new fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliners for $7,2-billion. It was not clear why the latest purchase contract did not include Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines, which were part of the earlier agreement.
Xiamen Air is 60% owned by China Southern Airlines, which along with Xiamen Air also signed a contract in April to buy 45 Boeing 737s.
Chicago-based Boeing has said the 787s will be priced at about $120-million each, though airlines usually negotiate discounts for large orders. The 787 Dreamliner, which is to go into service in 2008, competes with the A350 being developed by Airbus.
To date, Boeing has received 143 firm orders and 109 additional commitments for the long-range 787, including the 60 orders the Chinese airlines placed in January.
Both Boeing and Toulouse, France-based Airbus have boosted sales efforts in China, where airlines have made a series of major aircraft purchases in recent years as they build up fleets to meet soaring demand.
Boeing says it expects China’s airlines to spend $183-billion on aircraft over the next two decades as its 1,3-billion increasingly prosperous citizens take to air travel.
On Monday, pending the announcement of the planned purchase, shares in Air China, Shanghai-based China Eastern, and China Southern were suspended from trading in Hong Kong. — Sapa-AP
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