Boeing: China Eastern Chose To Swap Order For 787s For 737s

Boeing Co. (BA) said Tuesday that China Eastern Airlines Corp.'s (CEA) decision to cancel an order for 24 of the U.S. company's 787 Dreamliner jets and instead buy 45 smaller 737 aircraft is just a reallocation, while the jet maker also declined to comment on the financial impact of the shift.

China Eastern's move, disclosed in a regulatory filing in Hong Kong on Monday, marks one of the biggest order cancellations for the Dreamliner, Boeing's first all-new airliner in 16 years, after a series of delays in delivering the aircraft.

"They chose to swap or reallocate the order for Dreamliners for 737s...You have to talk to them (about their motivation)," Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of marketing, told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a news briefing in Seoul.

He said it is inappropriate for him to talk on "anything regarding finance."

"We are very pleased and focused on making sure that we meet their requirements and continue to work with Chinese customers, understand what they need and we're going to make adjustments to make sure that we address those needs," he said.

Boeing delivered the first of the long-range, twin-aisle Dreamliners to Japan's All Nippon Airways Co.(9202.TO) last month, more than three years behind the jet maker's original schedule.

-By Kyong-Ae Choi, Dow Jones Newswires; 822-3700-1903; kyong-ae.choi@dowjones.com

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