The US manufacturer is redesignating the new aircraft as part of its biggest deal with the mainland
Boeing has sealed its biggest deal in China, with the country's purchasing agent agreeing to buy 60 of the futuristic Dreamliner aircraft, which will be distributed among six mainland airlines.
The new fleet of B7E7s, worth US$7.2 billion based on list prices, was bought by the state-owned China Aviation Supply Co (CASC) for Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Hainan Airlines, according to people with inside knowledge of the deal.
After the perfunctory discounts for such a large purchase, analysts say the deal is probably worth closer to US$4.2 billion. Nonetheless, it represents the largest deal in terms of units and value Boeing has secured in China.
'The aim is to have all six of the mainland airlines operating a B7E7 in time for the Olympic Games in Beijing,' said a mainland airline executive. 'Boeing has indicated they will be changing the number of the model to the B787, because the number 8 is auspicious in China.'
The number eight is considered by the Chinese to be lucky because its pronunciation, 'ba', is close to 'fa' in Mandarin, which means rich. The same logic was used in selecting 08-08-2008 as the day on which to open the Olympic Games.
