China Eastern Airlines, which plans to buy 20 Boeing 777 jets worth nearly $6 billion, will also sell five Airbus A340s to the U.S. plane maker because they're costlier to run, the Shanghai-based airline said.
The airline said it's selling the Airbus A340-600 airplanes worth $708 million to Boeing because they have high operating costs and "relatively weak route competitiveness." The Airbus jets are about 8.3 years old, on average, and fly long-haul routes to New York and Los Angeles.
Boeing spokesman Yukui Wang would not comment on the deal to buy China Eastern's second-hand Airbus jets. But he said the company has in the past bought jets made by other plane makers and then sold them to other companies. China Eastern said list price of the 777-300ERs is $5.94 billion but it negotiated a discount. Airlines routinely get discounts from aircraft makers, and the final selling price for aircraft is rarely disclosed.
Boeing said last week the deal needs Chinese government approval.
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