XIAMEN TO ORDER 30 BOEING 737 MAXS
BEIJING : Xiamen Airlines is in talks with US plane manufacturer Boeing to purchase 30 737 MAXs, a company official said on Friday - an order worth up to $3.2 billion at list prices.
The order discussions come as industry players race to capture China's fast-growing air-travel market propelled by an increasingly affluent middle class. Xiamen Air announced an order of 40 Boeing 737-800s two weeks earlier.
"Regarding the 30 Boeing MAX planes, we are still in discussions," said a public-relations official surnamed Qiu, speaking by phone from the southeastern city of Xiamen.
The company has also considered purchasing A320neo planes from Boeing's European rival Airbus, but is not currently in talks with that maker, Qiu said, adding that the timetable for any deal was still uncertain.
Xiamen Airlines, which is set to join the Skyteam alliance this year, operates an all-Boeing fleet of six 757s and 77 next-generation 737s.
It will receive the 40 planes it ordered earlier this month between 2016 and 2019, pending government approval, it said at the time, and plans to expand its operational fleet to 200 planes by the end of 2020, according to Boeing.
The short-haul 737 MAX, Boeing's latest set of planes, will be available at the end of 2017, according to the company website.Beijing-based Boeing spokesperson Wang Yukui said the company does not comment on ongoing discussions with customers.
19/08/2012 : AFP / de - Channel News Asia
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