BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China's national flag carrier Air China signed an agreement Thursday to buy 18 A320neo planes, made by global aircraft producer Airbus, to improve its transport capacity.
Air China signed the deal with AFS Investments I, Inc., a subsidiary of aircraft leasing giant GECAS.
The deal is worth about 2.24 billion U.S. dollars, based on open-market prices registered in January 2018, and the actual sum will be adjusted later with price concessions, Air China said in a statement issued with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The deal, pending approval by China's aviation regulator, is expected to enhance Air China group's transport capacity by about 2.12 percent, according to the statement.
As one of the largest airlines in China, the group had 702 planes in operation by September 2020.
The shares of Air China rose 4.08 percent to 9.18 yuan (1.42 U.S. dollars) by close on Thursday. Enditem
