CHINA Eastern Airlines Corp., the nation’s third-largest carrier, said Friday it has ordered 80 B737 planes from Boeing Co. worth about US$7.4 billion, marking the Asian country’s biggest order from Boeing Co.

    China Eastern will buy a mix of 737-800 and upgraded Max models, to be delivered from 2016 to 2020, the carrier said in a statement.

    China Eastern will also sell 15 aging B737-300 jets and five B757 jets, with a book value of 1.5 billion yuan (US$241.58 million), back to Boeing, it said.

    China Eastern will fund the purchase from business operations, bank loans and other finances, according to the statement.

    Chinese carriers have recently been increasing capacity to add routes in China and beyond as growth in the world’s second-largest economy enables more people to fly.

    In May, China Southern Airlines Co. ordered 80 aircraft from Airbus Group worth at least US$7.3 billion.

    At least 13 Chinese airlines, double the existing number, will have a fleet of 100 aircraft each by the end of the decade, market researcher CAPA Center for Aviation said last month.

    Boeing, based in Chicago, said in February it isn’t ruling out the possibility of building a final assembly line for single-aisle planes in China in the future. Boeing, for four consecutive years, has increased its estimate for demand from China and expects the country to need 5,580 new planes costing US$780 billion through 2032.

    Airbus, which has an assembly line in Tianjin, China, has forecast that China will supplant the United States as the world’s largest market for aircraft by 2032.

    In January, Boeing said it delivered a record 143 jets to China last year and expects to hand over a similar number of aircraft in 2014. (SD-Agencies)