Okay Airways orders Dreamliners

Li Zongling, president of Okay Airways, gives a model aircraft 787-9 with Okay's logo to Ihssane Mounir, senior vice-president of global sales and marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, at a signing ceremony in Seattle on Wednesday. LINDA DENG / CHINA DAILY

Okay Airways on Wednesday announced an order for five Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

A signing ceremony was held at Boeing's headquarters in Seattle. The agreement, signed as a memorandum of understanding at the 2017 Paris Air Show, is valued at $1.4 billion at list prices.

"We are committed to investing in our aircraft fleet in order to keep growing ahead of the market and enhancing our customers' flying experience," said Li Zongling, president of Okay Airways, which is headquartered in Beijing.

"Today's order for the all-new, super-efficient 787-9 Dreamliner will strengthen Okay's position to expand into the long-haul market with the best product in its class," Li said.

"We are honored to welcome Okay Airways as our new 787 customer," said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice-president of global sales and marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 787-9 will complement Okay's single-aisle fleet and enable them to profitably open new long-haul routes while providing their passengers unmatched comfort. We value our longstanding partnership with Okay Airways and look forward to delivering these airplanes to support their international expansion plan."

Okay Airways has an all-Boeing jetliner fleet and has 26 737s, serving more than 70 domestic and regional destinations.

With more than 1,280 orders from 70 customers worldwide, the 787 Dreamliner family offers three modern and efficient airplanes that are optimized for the middle of the market.

The 787-9 is the second member of the fastest-selling twin-aisle airplane in history. It can fly 290 passengers up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140km). The 787-9 leverages the visionary design of the 787 family, offering features such as large, dimmable windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride.

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com