AIR China Ltd., the country’s flag carrier, said Monday it signed an agreement to order 60 Boeing B737 planes for a total price of US$5.9 billion.

    The aircraft are to be delivered between 2016 and 2020 per the agreement, which was disclosed Monday in a Air China regulatory filing.

    The order comes four months after Boeing Co. won an order for 80 737 planes from Singapore-based BOC Aviation.

    Boeing said in September it expects China to need more than 6,020 aircraft in the next 20 years, an 8 percent rise over last year’s two-decade estimate, as growing overseas leisure travel drives demand.

    That same month Boeing delivered the first of seven 747-8 Intercontinental jumbo jets to Air China, which was one of the few carriers to order the fuel efficient aircraft.

    (SD-Agencies)