OREANDA-NEWS. May 06, 2011. BOC Aviation announces its long-term leasing of five brand-new Airbus A330-200 cargo planes to Hainan Airlines today. To be delivered during the year 2012-2013, these planes will be operated by Yangtze River Express, a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines Group, which will make BOC Aviation the largest A330-200 leaser to China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, reported the press-centre of Bank of China.

Ma Ruibo, the general manager and CEO of BOC Aviation, said, "this is the first time for BOC Aviation to purchase cargo planes from an aircraft manufacturer. With our first cooperation with Hainan Airlines Group dating back to 1998, this time will help us further consolidate the share of BOC Aviation in the Chinese market."

Chen Feng, the board chairman of Hainan Airlines Group, said he was pleased to cooperate with BOC Aviation in providing the first batch of cargo planes for Yangtze River Express, "these planes may well meet our business needs after the recovery of global economy, and we are looking forward to the persistent partnership with BOC Aviation."

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of China, BOC Aviation is a leading aircraft leasing company in Asia, with a fleet of 169 new planes serving the airlines around the world. Furthermore, the company has a confirmed order of 62 planes and two leaseback ones with committed delivery. BOC Aviation possesses a fleet with an average age of less than four years, the youngest in the industry.