Li Zongling, president of Okay Airways, gives a model aircraft 787-9 with Okay's logo to Ihssane Mounir, senior vice-president of global sales and marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, at a signing ceremony in Seattle. (Photo/China Daily by Linda Deng)
Boeing and Okay Airways, China's first privately owned airline, have finalized an order for five 787-9 Dreamliners, Boeing China announced Thursday.
The agreement is valued at 1.4 billion U.S. dollars at list prices, according to Boeing.
"We are committed to investing in our aircraft fleet in order to keep growing ahead of the market and enhancing our customers' flying experience," said Li Zongling, president with Okay Airways.
The new order for the 787-9 Dreamliner will strengthen Okay's plan to expand into the long-haul market, he added.
Okay Airways will extend its current all-Boeing single-aisle jetliner fleet with the wide-body twin-aisle 787-9 Dreamliners.
The 787-9 can fly 290 passengers up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140km).
"The 787-9 will complement Okay's single-aisle fleet and enable them to profitably open new long-haul routes, while supporting their international expansion plan," said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president with Boeing Commercial Airplanes for global sales and marketing.
Headquartered in Beijing, Okay Airways is currently an all-Boeing jetliner fleet of 26 737 aircraft, serving more than 70 domestic and regional destinations.
The 787 Dreamliner family has received more than 1,280 orders from 70 customers worldwide, offering three modern and efficient airplanes.
To date, more than 600 787 Dreamliners have entered commercial service. They have flown more than 200 million passengers, enabling airlines to open more than 170 new nonstop routes around the world.
