Two Chinese Airlines Are Buying Boeing Planes for $10 Billion
Two Boeing Co. 747 aircraft, operated by Virgin Atlantic, stand on the tarmac at Terminal 3 of Heathrow airport in London, U.K., on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Heathrow is Europe's No. 1 air hub, attracting 69.4 million passengers in 2011, while London Gatwick is the world's busiest single-runway airport, both are running close to capacity. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Chris Ratcliffe — Bloomberg via Getty Images
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China Southern Airlines and its affiliate Xiamen Airlines have signed deals worth about $10 billion to buy Boeing (BA) airplanes, company statements on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s website showed on Thursday.
China Southern, the country’s largest airline by fleet size, has agreed to purchase 50 B737MAX and 30 B737 Next Generation airplanes from Boeing, while its unit Xiamen Airlines has agreed to buy 30 B737 MAX airplanes.
The total value of the deals is 65.07 billion yuan ($10.04 billion), according to the stock exchange filings.
Boeing, in a separate statement, valued China Southern’s 80-plane order at $8.38 billion.
The deal comes less than three months after China President Xi Jinping visited Boeing’s widebody commercial airplane factory during his state visit to the United States.
Boeing announced orders and commitments for 300 Boeing aircraft during Xi’s visit, as well a partnership with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) to open a China completion center for the delivery of Boeing 737 aircraft.
China Southern also said it has agreed to sell to Boeing 13 B757 and three B733 along with spare engines.