China Eastern Airlines set to buy 16 Airbus A330 planes

China Eastern Airlines has announced this week it has agreed to the purchase of 16 new Airbus A330 jets, giving a boost to the European aircraft manufacturer as companies compete to get ahead in the fast-growing market.

The airline issued a statement that the average basic price of the jet was in total around $2.6 billion, based on the relevant price catalogue in 2007, and added that the planes were due to be delivered from 2011 to 2014.

Shares in the company which owns Airbus, EADS, were down by 0.1 per cent at 13.61 euros in early afternoon trade.

Both major aircraft makers Airbus and US rival Boeing have been working hard to secure orders in China, where demand for new aircraft is set to increase as the country’s economy continues to boom.

The order from China Eastern comes just a week after the CFM International aero-engines joint venture of French group Safran and US partner General Electrics won a multibillion dollar contract to supply engines for China’s future C919 aircraft.

China Eastern is based in Shanghai, and serves domestic destinations across China, and international destinations across all continents.

The airline has a fleet of both wide and narrow bodied Boeing and Airbus jets.