PARIS: China Eastern Airlines has agreed to buy 16 Airbus A330 planes for a “substantially lower” price than the catalogue figure of 2.6 billion dollars (1.8 billion euros), the airline said.

“On December 28, the company entered into the Agreement with Airbus SAS regarding the purchase of

sixteen Airbus A330 series aircraft,” said a statement from the airline on the Hong Kong stock exchange website. It said the jets were needed to meet growing demand for long-haul flights.

The airline said it had been given “material price concessions” by Airbus in the form of credit to be used for spare parts, goods and services or to go towards the final delivery invoice payment for the aircraft. The

planes are due to be delivered in stages between 2011 and 2014.

“The aircraft will primarily be used to

satisfy the demand arising from the growth of the market of long-and-medium-haul routes passenger air transportation for the coming years,” the airline said.

The deal is subject to shareholders’ approval.