The Boeing Company said yesterday it has finalized a deal to sell Air China seven 737-700 jetliners worth about US$360 million.

Delivery of the planes, which will boost the Air China Boeing fleet to 139, is set to run from November 2005 to mid-2006.

The new Boeing 737-700s will be powered by CFM56-7 engines produced by CFMI, a joint venture of General Electric of the United States and Snecma of France.

“Our great relationship with Air China goes back to the airline’s beginning and we’re proud to be part of their success,” said Rob Laird, vice president of China Sales of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Officials at Air China were not available for comment, but Boeing said the operator would use the airplanes on its domestic routes.

“China is one of the fastest growing markets in the world for commercial aviation,” said Randy Baseler, vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial.

China is expected to place orders for about 2,400 new jets worth US$197 billion over the next 20 years, he said.

“China’s airlines will add 1,960 new airplanes to serve domestic markets, including Hong Kong and Macao,” Baseler said. Nearly 440 new airplanes will be added to provide international service.

By 2022, Chinese carriers will fly more than 2,850 passenger and cargo airplanes, making China’s fleet the second largest next to the United States, according to Baseler.

“The need for new airplanes is required to support a 7.1 percent annual increase in air travel in China from 2003 to 2022, compared to the world average of 5.1 percent,” he said.

David Wang, president of Boeing China, said his company would try to obtain more orders from China.

Boeing will also continue to expand its industrial cooperation with Chinese companies.

The ARJ21, a new regional jet to be built by China Aviation Industry Corp. I, is supported by Boeing technical contracts, Wang said.

The joint venture BHA Aero Composites Co. Ltd. will have additional opportunities as airplane production rates and support contracts increase, he said.

“We plan to increase production rates for model 737 airplane assemblies built in China at Xi’an, Shanghai and Shenyang,” he said.

Boeing is also planning a new major maintenance and repair facility in Shanghai, he said.

Industrial cooperation between Boeing and China’s began in the mid-1970s. Since then, teams of Boeing manufacturing, quality and planning experts have resided in China providing on-site training for building Boeing parts and assemblies.

Today, China’s aviation manufacturing companies are playing key roles in Boeing’s global supplier network, Wang said.

There are now more than 3,200 Boeing aircraft flying worldwide that include major parts and assemblies build in China. “This equals more than a quarter of all Boeing airplanes in service worldwide,” Wang said.

(China Daily September 3, 2004)