China Eastern Airlines plans to raise up to 15 billion yuan ($2.23 billion) to fund the purchase of 38 new jets expected to be delivered from this year to 2024.
The carrier said in the filing with the Shanghai stock exchange that it plans to buy four Chinese-made Comac C919 airliners and 24 Comac ARJ21-700 regional jets, as well as six Airbus A350-900 and four Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The total list price is about $4.38 billion. The share sale would also be used to replenish working capital, according to the filing.
The airline reported a first-quarter net loss of 7.8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) due to the impact of Covid-19 and a significant increase in jet fuel costs.
Last week, the US Department of Transportation approved a China Eastern request to let it extend the rerouting of New York-to-Shanghai flights, over Covid-19 measures, to a different Chinese airport through May 31.
The department previously granted China Eastern’s request to move existing twice-weekly Shanghai westbound passenger flights from New York to China’s Fuzhou Changle International Airport in Fujian province through the end of April.
- Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell
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