China Said to Sign Deal on Boeing Orders

SEATTLE – China plans to sign a deal next month confirming five airlines’ orders for 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, a Chinese news agency said Friday. The Boeing Co. said it was still negotiating with those carriers and a sixth airline to seal commitments for a total of 60 orders placed in January.

Airlines involved in the $6 billion deal, reported by the official Xinhua News Agency, were the national flag carrier Air China, Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Shanghai Airlines.

In January, those five airlines and a sixth, China Southern, announced a deal for 60 787s worth $7.2 billion.

“We continue to work with six airlines in China to finalize the commitments that were made in January,” said Boeing spokesman Peter Conte in Seattle. Chicago-based Boeing, founded here, builds most of its commercial planes in Washington state.

To date, Boeing has received 143 firm orders and 109 additional commitments for the fuel-efficient, long-range 787, including the 60 orders the Chinese airlines placed in January.

The largest combined order for the 787 so far has come from Japan, where All-Nippon Airways has ordered 50 planes and Japan Air Lines has ordered 30.

The long-range wide-body jet is scheduled to enter service in 2008. Airbus, Boeing’s chief rival, has designed the A350, a mid-sized jet, to compete with the 787.

China has made a series of major aircraft purchases in recent years from Boeing and Airbus to serve its booming airline industry. Both Boeing and Toulouse, France-based Airbus have boosted sales efforts there.

Boeing says it expects China’s airlines to spend $183 billion on aircraft over the next two decades as its 1.3 billion increasingly prosperous citizens take to air travel.

Boeing has said the 787s will be priced at about $120 million each, though airlines usually negotiate discounts for large orders. The plane will be assembled in Everett, about 30 miles north of Seattle.

Boeing shares rose 6 cents to $66.06 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.