China Eastern Airlines to buy six Boeing 737-700 jets

BEIJING (AP) _ China Eastern Airlines Corp. said Friday it will buy six 737-700 airplanes from Boeing Co. for $240 million. <br/><br/>The planes are to be delivered beginning in January 2006 and are to

Wednesday, December 22nd 2004, 8:36 am

By: News On 6

BEIJING (AP) _ China Eastern Airlines Corp. said Friday it will buy six 737-700 airplanes from Boeing Co. for $240 million.

The planes are to be delivered beginning in January 2006 and are to be used for both international and domestic routes, China Eastern said in a statement.

The carrier is one of the country's major state-controlled airlines.

In October, it agreed to buy 20 A330-300 aircraft from Airbus, Chicago-based Boeing's rival in the passenger jet industry.

A China Eastern Airlines aircraft exploded in November after taking off from the northern Chinese city of Baotou and plunged into an icy lake.

The crash of the Bombardier CRJ-200 jet killed 55 people, China's deadliest airline disaster in more than two years.