China Eastern Orders $10 Billion of New Planes From Airbus, Boeing

By Robert Wall

LONDON--China Eastern Airlines Corp. (0670.HK) Thursday said it would renew its widebody plane fleet​ and buy​ Boeing Co. (BA) ​and Airbus Group SE ​(AIR.FR) jetliners ​for a combined value of about $10 billion at list price.

China Eastern Airlines said it would buy 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and 20 Airbus A350-900 planes. They would replace six Boeing 767 widebodies and 12 Airbus A330 long-range jets, the airline said in a stock market filing.

The carrier said it would introduce the Boeing planes between 2018 and 2021. "The addition of these next-generation, fuel-efficient airplanes will play a key role in supporting China Eastern's strategy for international expansion, and enable us to realize profits in point-to-point routes across the Pacific Ocean, and between China and Europe," China Eastern Airlines Chairman Liu Shaoyong said in a Boeing statement.

The Airbus deliveries would also start in 2018 and are scheduled to stretch to 2022.

Delivery plans for both plane types could be adapted depending on market conditions, the airline said.

Write Robert Wall at robert.wallwsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2016 09:37 ET (13:37 GMT)

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