China Eastern to add 30 to 50 Airbus jets- paper

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SHANGHAI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines (0670) (CEA) plans to add
30 to 50 Airbus [ARBU.UL] (EAD) jets to its fleet over three years in an
effort to expand market share in China and abroad, the official China Daily
said on Saturday.

The investment in new planes would cost at least 12 billion yuan ($1.45
billion), the price tag for 30 Airbus A320 planes, the paper quoted the
airline's president Liu Shaoyong as saying.

Liu was quoted as saying the airline's earnings last year had been
"favourable to the airline's continued investment", but it did not give a
specific profit figure for 2001.

China Eastern officials were not immediately available for comment.

The New York- and Hong Kong-listed airline said on Thursday it was selling
two cargo jets this month, raising one billion yuan in cash to buy passenger
jets.


China Eastern is already set to take delivery of two Airbus jets in the
first half and four Boeing (BA) 737s in the second half of 2002.

It was not immediately clear whether the 30 to 50 new Airbus jets would
include the two already set for delivery this year.

China's airline sector is undergoing a massive state-ordered shakeup, with
the three leading airlines -- flag carrier Air China, the largest by fleet
size China Southern (1055) (ZNH), and China Eastern -- merging with seven
smaller airlines over two years.

State media has said the three carriers had suffered a combined $405 million
in direct losses by the end of 2001 following the September 11 attacks on
the United States.

On Friday, China Eastern's Hong Kong shares closed down 1.83 percent at
HK$1.070 and its New York stock ended six cents lower at $13.75. ($1 = 8.276
yuan)

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