Air China orders $2.9 bn worth of Airbus A330-300 passenger jets
China’s third biggest carrier, Air China, says it has made a bid to buy 12 Airbus A330-300 long-haul wide-bodied passenger jets for a total price of USD 2.9 billion.
The company had already announced last October that it was planning to buy 30 Airbus A330s, but the statement issued to the Shanghai exchange by the airline on Monday did not say if the order to buy planes for 2016 through 2018 delivery was part of that deal or a separate bid, AFP reported.
The statement added that the prices are based on open market list prices for 2013, which at the current rate would be closer to USD 3.1 billion. Air China, however, indicated that it had been granted price concessions in the form of credit memoranda following negotiations.
The carrier also added in its statement that the price of new planes would be paid in installments.
Air China also indicated that the purchases from the European jet maker would "optimize its fleet structure" and strengthen its flight capacity, through increasing that capacity by 5.6 percent.
Last October, Chinese officials confirmed during a visit to the country by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that an order had been put in place for buying 30 Airbus A330 passenger jets confirming an outline agreement from June in Paris.
The initial outline agreement was for the sale of 75 Airbus A330s to public holding company, China Aviation Supplies (CAS), for a catalogue value of USD 18 billion.
Pakistan says Iran's gas project ‘need of the hour’, pushes for US sanctions waiver
Israeli economy plunges almost 20% as Gaza war takes heavy toll
IMF to urge China to shift growth model towards consumption
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
UN chief calls for independent probe into Gaza mass graves
Russia slams US hypocrisy in ICC probe of Israel, arrest warrant for Putin
VIDEO | Police dismantle migrant camp near Paris city hall
ICJ rejects emergency measures over German arms exports to Israel
VIDEO | Inspired by demos in US, students in Lebanon protest for Gaza
‘Irrational violence’ against pro-Palestine demos will be of no avail: Iran’s Parliament
US, foreign attorneys call on Biden to halt arms sales to Israel: Report
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
