China Eastern Airlines Corp. plans to buy 10 Airbus SAS A330 jetliners and is considering an order for Boeing Co.'s proposed 7E7 plane, company President Li Fenghua said.

"Our preliminary plan is to buy 10 Airbus planes, but we need approval from the government,'' Li said, adding that the type under consideration is the A330. 

Dow Jones Newswires reported earlier that Shanghai-based China Eastern will next week sign an agreement on the A330s and plans to purchase 20 7E7s by 2020. The agency's report cited an unidentified airline official.

China's third-largest airline would announce the A330 order "in the next few days," the report said. The twin-aisle A330 can carry between 250 and 330 passengers and sells for between US$121 million and US$132 million, depending on the model.

"We have plans to buy planes for our expansion and we'll decide by the end of June or early July,'' said Daniel Song, assistant to China Eastern Group Chairman Ye Yigan.

China Eastern last week said it planned to expand its fleet by adding medium-range aircraft, ruling out purchasing Airbus's 550-seat A380 super jumbo, which will be the world's largest commercial jetliner when it comes into service in 2006.

Boeing plans to start deliveries of its 7E7, the so-called "Dreamliner,'' in 2008.

China Eastern shares rose as much as 0.7 percent to HK$1.54 as of noontime Monday.

 (Shenzhen Daily June 1, 2004)