China to order 218 aircraft this year

Chinese airlines appear to be preparing to order up to 218 new aircraft this year to meet surging demand, according to the head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

According to state media agency Xinhua, CAAC director Li Jiaxiang said the orders will range from regional jets up to very large airliners to meet major increases in traffic. CAAC currently predicts that air traffic will more than triple to 700 million passengers by 2020.