Air China Signs Deal To Purchase 60 Boeing B737 Aircraft

AirChina_B737_March2005 — More Chinese are traveling to the United States, the result of increased prosperity, leading to exponential growth among Chinese airlines. Chinese workers stand in front of an Air China Boeing B737 aircraft at Beijing Airport on March 23, 2005. Reuters/Claro Cortes IV

(Reuters) - Air China Ltd, the country's flag carrier, said Monday it signed an agreement to order 60 Boeing B737 planes for a total price of $5.9 billion.

The aircraft are to be delivered between 2016 and 2020 per the agreement, which was disclosed Monday in an Air China regulatory filing.

The order comes four months after Boeing Co won an order for 80 737 planes from Singapore-based BOC Aviation.

Boeing said in September it expects China to need more than 6,020 aircraft in the next 20 years, an 8 percent rise over last year's two-decade estimate, as growing overseas leisure travel drives demand.

That same month Boeing delivered the first of seven 747-8 Intercontinental jumbo jets to Air China, which was one of the few carriers to order the fuel efficient aircraft.

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