=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/12/20/financial/= f035932S42.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, December 20, 2005 (AP) CR Airways in Preliminary Boeing Deal (12-20) 03:59 PST HONG KONG, China (AP) -- Hong Kong's CR Airways Ltd. signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 30 Boeing B737-800s and 10 B787 Dreamliners that could be delivered in the next five years, the airline and aircraft maker said Tuesday. "This move will surely enable CR Airways to develop its air routes and strengthen Hong Kong's airline industry," the carrier said in a Chinese-language news release. The total list price for all the planes was about $3 billion, said Mark Hooper, a Boeing Co. spokesman. The signed deal was an agreement stating the airline's intention to acquire the planes, but the carrier did not say whether it would buy or lease the jets. CR Airway's statement said that it planned to introduce the planes into its fleet in the next five years. The small airline, founded in 2001, flies scheduled and chartered flights to Southeast Asia and mainland China. Chicago-based Boeing touts the mid-range B787 as a more efficient, slightly larger version of its 747 workhorse. -----------------------------= ----------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP