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DALLAS — Air China (CA) has agreed to sell eight of its oldest Airbus A330-200s to its cargo unit, Air China Cargo, in a deal valued at up to US$114m. The move is part of the airline's fleet optimization effort and will "improve the economic benefits" of aircraft disposal.
Air China will transfer the A330s, which are between 15 and 17 years old, to its cargo unit from this year through to 2025. It has not disclosed how or where the aircraft will be converted into freighters.
These A330s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 772 turbofans and have clocked between 9,300 and 12,500 hours of flying.
Aircraft to Be Sold
According to FlightGobal, the eight A330s to be sold are likely to be MSNs 750, 756, 759, 839, 860, 867, 873, and 884. CA's fleet plans, disclosed in its full-year results for 2022, stated that it will phase out four A330s this year, another four in 2023, and two more in 2025.
The airline said the base price for each A330 is around US$14.7m, "subject to the price adjustment mechanism" for any difference between delivery conditions and the half-life condition of the aircraft. Nonetheless, the airline stated that the final price consideration will not exceed the base price listed.
“By entering into the aircraft sale and purchase agreement, the company will dispose of the aircraft with relatively longer average age to optimize the structure of the group’s aircraft fleet, and effectively control delivery costs through a reasonable pricing mechanism and optimized delivery terms, and improve the economic benefits of aircraft disposal."
Air China
Currently, CA operates a fleet of 17 other A330-200s and 28 A330-300s. The airline has been hit by the pandemic, like many of its peers, and had net losses of CNY13.5bn (US$2.1bn) in 2020.
Feature Image: Air China Airbus A330-243. Photo: Roberto Leiro/Airways
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