Chinese airlines agree purchase of Boeing 787 Dreamliners worth US$7.2bn

January 29, 2005

Officials from the People's Republic of China have agreed to purchase 60 aircraft in a deal worth US$7.2bn.

In China, airliners are selected and purchased by the government, which then distributes them to different airlines. The preliminary agreement will see Dreamliners delivered to six airlines &mdash;, China Eastern Airlines, , , and. The deliveries are scheduled to be in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The aircraft was once named the 7E7 but was renamed at the same time the deal was announced. Boeing will begin production in 2006 and the aircraft should enter airline service in 2008. It will seat 200 to 300 people and will have a range of 3,500 to 8,500 nautical miles. Through the use of the latest materials and designs it will be 20% more fuel efficient than the equivalent aircraft today.