Airline Said It Received "Significant Concessions" On Price

The order book for Boeing 777 airplanes grew by a bit Friday, as Air China announced a deal to buy four of the airliners from Boeing. The list price on the aircraft is $1.15 billion, but Air China said it received "significant price concessions" on the transaction. The airline did not say how much it actually agreed to pay for the airplanes, but said this deal was similar to one made with Boeing last month.

Air China released a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange saying it expected delivery of the 777-300 aircraft in 2013 and 2014. The international news service AFP reports that the new airplanes represented a four percent increase in capacity. "The transaction would optimise the fleet structure of the Company and is in line with the market requirements for the Company," the Air China statement said. "The Company expects the Boeing aircraft will deliver more cost-efficient performance and provide more comfortable services to passengers."

Air China already has an order of 20 737-800's on the books with Boeing worth an estimated $1.4 billion. In response to the growing business in China, Boeing opened a maintenance facility at Shanghai's Pudong Airport last October.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.airchina.com