WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (AFP) - Aerospace giant Boeing concluded a deal Friday with the Chinese government for 60 of its new 7E7 "Dreamliner" passenger planes, with a list price of 7.2 billion dollars.
"The Boeing Company and officials from the People`s Republic of China signed a preliminary agreement for the purchase of 60 Boeing 7E7 Dreamliners by Chinese airlines," the US company said in a statement.
"The agreement, which will be finalized at a later date, is valued at approximately 7.2 billion dollars, based on an average list price."
The carriers -- Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines -- will have at least some of the new planes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the company said.
The deal provides a major boost for Boeing`s efforts to launch its new fuel-efficient jetliner in the global marketplace.
The aircraft maker fell well short of its goal of getting 200 firm orders for the Dreamliner by the end of 2004. Boeing received 126 orders for 7E7s, 56 of them firm by the end of last year. The new deal with China would boost the total announced orders for the 7E7 to 186.
The 7E7 has faced enormous competition from the just-launched A350, built by its rival European consortium Airbus.
The Chinese order would be a victory for the US company, which is in a fierce battle with Airbus to conquer China`s market.
Tempering the impact, however, was the nearly simultaneous deal signed in Paris with the heads of Airbus and the state-run China Southern Airlines for the sale of five A380 superjumbo airliners, worth an estimated one billion dollars.
Boeing officials attended a signing ceremony in Washington Friday with US government officials, the Chinese ambassador and Chinese executives at the Commerce Department.
Boeing currently has a 60 percent share of the Chinese market.
In the next 20 years, Boeing forecasts sales in China at more than 2,000, while Airbus sees potential sales at some 1,600, and the domestic Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) is looking at nearly 1,300.
The Japanese company All Nippon Airways (ANA) has so far made the most orders for Boeing`s 7E7, buying 50 aircraft.
The basic Dreamliner model, 7E7-8, will carry around 217 passengers on routes of up to 15,700 kilometers (9,800 miles).
Dreamliner will have a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (647 miles/1,050 kilometers per hour). With a range of up to 14,500 kilometers (7,800 nautical miles), the aircraft will use 20 percent less fuel than any other plane of its size through engine improvements and the use of lighter composite metals for structure, according to Boeing.
01/28/2005 19:45 GMT - AFP