Air China orders 12 Airbus A330-300s worth nearly Rs 19,795 crore

Air China said on Monday it had ordered 12 Airbus A330-300 long-haul wide-bodied jets for $2.9 billion (nearly Rs 19,795.4 crore).

Air China, which is China's third-largest carrier by passengers, however, did not say in its statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange if the order for 2016 through 2018 delivery was a part of a deal for 30 A330 announced last October.

The prices are based on an open market 2013 list prices which would be around $3.1 billion (nearly Rs 21,160.6 crore) on Monday but Air China indicated it had been granted price concessions in the form of credit memoranda following negotiations.

The carrier, which had said it will pay for the new jets in instalments, had also indicated that the purchases from the European plane maker would "optimise its fleet structure" and strengthen capacity, boosting the latter by 5.6%.

Last October, China had confirmed an order for 30 A330 jets during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, confirming an outline agreement from June in Paris.

The initial outline agreement was for the sale of 75 A330 to public holding company China Aviation Supplies (CAS) for a catalogue value of $18 billion (nearly Rs 1.23 lakh crore).