Xiamen Airlines orders six B787 aircraft

China Southern Airlines announced (09-May-2011) its subsidiary Xiamen Airlines has entered into an aircraft acquisition agreement with Boeing to purchase six B787 aircraft. China Southern stated Xiamen will purchase the aircraft at "significantly" less than the catalogue price of USD1.1 billion for these aircraft combined, including airframes and engines. The aggregate consideration for the acquisition will be partly funded by internal resources and partly by financing arrangements with commercial banking institutions. The aircraft will be delivered in stages from 2014 to 2015. The aircraft will increase the ATKs of the group by 3.5% from levels at 31-Dec-2010. Xiamen Airlines stated the order is consistent with the development strategy and the aircraft fleet structure plan of the group and will facilitate the optimisation of the fleet and capacity, "thus enhancing the competitiveness and core competence of the Group." [more]