Air China to buy 20 Airbus planes

BEIJING - Air China, the country’s leading airlines, said Thursday that it would buy 20 Airbus aircraft at an estimated cost of around $4.5 billion.

The Beijing-based carrier said Air China has entered into an agreement with Airbus to purchase 10 of it A330-series aircraft and 10 A350-series aircraft, Xinhua reported citing a statement submitted to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Airbus has granted Air China significant price concessions with regard to the planes, the statement said.

Air China would take delivery of the A330-series aircraft in phases from 2013 to 2015 and the A350-series from 2018 to 2020, it said.