Chinese government authorities so far have not confirmed a joint purchase of 36 Boeing aircraft by five domestic airlines, casting doubt over earlier media reports about the said acquisition plan.
"Until now, we have received no approval from the State Development Planning Commission for the five carriers to buy the Boeing 737 series aircraft," a Civil Aviation Administration of China official, who refused to be identified, said yesterday.
Early last week, several media reports said China had approved a US$2-billion order for 36 planes for Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Hainan Airlines.
In response, Boeing China Inc. released a statement on its local Website saying it has received no official notices from the CAAC about the purchase.
Officials from the State Development Planning Commission couldn't be reached for comments.
However, at least two of the five carriers admitted that they planned to expand their fleets, but none of them confirmed whether the reported joint purchase was part of their plans.
China Eastern, which heads one of the nation's three main airline groups, said it would add four Boeing 737-700 passenger jets to its fleet.
The aircraft are expected to be delivered to the airline by the end of next year, Daniel Song, an investment relations official at China Eastern, said yesterday.
Another local carrier, Shanghai Airlines, also confirmed its plan to increase its capacity.
"We will receive a Boeing 767-300 aircraft next month," said Wang Wanlong, a company spokesman.
"In addition, two other planes, a Boeing 737-700 and a Boeing 737-800, will be delivered in October and November, respectively."
Under its expansion plan, the carrier will buy a total of 20 Boeing aircraft, including Boeing 737, 767 and 757, over the next five years.
Su Liang, board secretary of China Southern, the country's largest carrier in terms of fleet size, dismissed the media reports about his company's involvement in the said joint aircraft purchase as groundless, saying its expansion plan hasn't been finalized.
(Eastday.com.cn 08/14/2001)
