China Southern orders six B777Fs

China Southern Airlines announced (31-May-2011) that it has entered an agreement with Boeing covering the purchase of six B777Fs as it grows its cargo business. China Southern stated the list price of each B777F is USD264 million, although the airline's actual purchasing price is "significantly lower than the catalogue price" due to "certain price concessions granted by Boeing" although the carrier did not disclose the actual cost of the aircraft. The six aircraft will be delivered between 2013 and 2015 and will be funded by bank loans and China Southern's operating fund. It described the deal as being "consistent with the (airline's) development strategy." The carrier stated "the acquisition will facilitate the optimisation of the structure of the group's cargo business, freighter fleet and cargo traffic capacity". China Southern said the new aircraft will boost its cargo capacity (ATKs) by 8.4% and enhance its operational efficiency, as well as the competitiveness of its cargo business. [more]