BEIJING, July 23 (InfoChina) – China Eastern Airlines (NYSE: CEA, HK: 0670, SH: 600115) announced Sunday that it inked a contract with Airbus on July 17 for purchasing 10 A320s (including engines) to serve medium- and short-distance domestic passenger transportation.
According to the agreement with Airbus, the ordered A320 aircraft will be delivered between March 2011 and May 2012. The company’s announcement showed that though according to 2005 catalogued price, ten A320 series should be sold at 4.638 billion yuan or 613 million US dollars, the actual transaction price might be lower than the aforesaid price.
Proceeds for the purchase will mainly depend on loans from commercial banks, which will raise the carrier’s debt ratio in the short term but will not affect the company’s cash flow and sustainable operating capacity.
The carrier’s announcement claimed that the aircraft purchase would sharpen the company’s competitive edge, expecting to enhance its carrying capacity by 3.2 percent. (Edited by Lin Fanjing,
)
China Stock News 
