China Eastern Airlines, China's third-largest carrier, is looking to speed up the delivery of new aircraft as it seeks to meet increasing demand.

Recent confirmation of a deal to buy 30 Airbus A320 aircraft, valued at around US$1.74 billion and due to be delivered between 2008 and 2010, is just the latest move by the firm to increase its fleet.

The order was part of a joint purchase of 150 Airbus A320 planes announced last December.

According to one official with the airline who spoke to China Daily, China Eastern is pushing for delivery of 15 new planes by the end of this year to add to its current fleet of 180 aircraft.

The company is expecting three 124-seater Airbus A319s, seven 149-seater Boeing 737-700s, one 300-plus-seater Boeing 747 and four smaller Brazilian ERJ 145s.

"Both the Airbus A320 series planes and the Boeing 737 and 747 aircraft take comfort and safety into consideration, which matches the principles of China Eastern," the official added.

Next year should see at least 20 new planes, including 14 from Airbus and three Boeings.

Driven by an increasing need for business travel and the growing ability to travel for leisure, there is more demand in China for both domestic and international air travel.

Passenger traffic at Pudong Airport in Shanghai is expected to hit 42 million travellers in 2007 and continue growing to 60 million travellers by 2015. At the same time, Beijing is expected see air passengers grow from around 30 million this year to 60 million in 2015.

Travel to both cities is not only being driven by economic growth, but also by events such as the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Shanghai Expo in 2010.

Airbus forecasts that Chinese carriers will have bought almost 2,000 new planes, worth more than US$200 billion, by 2023.

Investment will not only be in the sky, but also on the ground as China builds more and bigger airports to cope with the increasing demand for air travel.

(China Daily June 28, 2006)