Air China Ltd plans to buy 45 aircraft from Boeing Co in one of the biggest aircraft purchases made by a Chinese carrier.

The order of 15 Boeing777 and 30 Boeing 737 aircraft will help the Beijing-based carrier consolidate the capital as an air hub, the country's largest international carrier said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday.

The list price for the order is US$6.3 billion but concessions could reduce the final price.

The aircraft, which will be delivered between 2011 and 2015, are expected to increase the carrier's capacity by 35 percent compared to 2007.

The carrier will raise funds for the purchase via operation earnings, bank loans and other financing tools, the statement said. The purchase is still pending approval from shareholders and the regulator.

Last month, Air China announced that it planned to buy 20 A330 jets from Airbus for US$3.82 billion. The jets will be delivered between 2011 and 2014 and will increase capacity by 16.5 percent.

Air China's passenger volume decreased 7.5 percent last month on a yearly basis to 2.67 million and load factor dropped 5 percentage points to 72.5 percent. Meanwhile, its cargo volume dropped 4.9 percent to 74,500 tons.

The carrier said the slide was partly due to the Sichuan earthquake and heightened security measures for the Olympics.

(Shanghai Daily July 17, 2008)