RTR: Taiwan's China Airlines to buy 16 Boeing 787s in $4.6bn deal

REUTERS reports:

Taiwan’s China Airlines Ltd (2610.TW) said on Tuesday it would buy 16 Boeing Co (BA.N) 787 widebody planes to replace its ageing fleet of Airbus (AIR.PA) A330s following a widely-watched contest held against the backdrop of regional tensions.

The politically sensitive deal worth $4.6 billion at list prices was announced by the government-backed carrier weeks after a visit to Taipei by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had angered Beijing and stoked Sino-U.S. trade tensions.

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Boeing, which is trying to rebuild its business in China, was seen as the front-runner amid political issues surrounding the China-claimed, self-ruled island but had been at pains to avoid using her visit to actively lobby for a 787 deal, industry sources told Reuters earlier this month.

“Beijing has a long history of punishing Boeing and rewarding Airbus, and vice versa, for perceived political sins…”.

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