China Postal Airlines officially signed an agreement with Boeing on Tuesday to buy seven Boeing 757-200 aircraft and to transform 10 Boeing 737-800 passenger aircraft into cargo aircraft, thereby substantially increasing its air capacity.

This is the biggest aircraft purchase order in the history of China Postal Airlines. Li Xiong, deputy general manager of China Post Group Corporation, said the purchase will bring more advanced performance, better fuel efficiency and lower operating costs to China Postal Airlines.

The Boeing 757 aircraft, with a maximum payload of 28 tons and hourly fuel consumption of 2.81 tons, boasts respectively twice and 1.15-fold those of the Boeing 737. These traits will effectively help to reduce operating costs for China Postal Airlines.　

After the seven new aircrafts are put into operation in 2016, Postal Airlines will have a total of 11 Boeing 757 aircraft, and the airline’s total number of aircraft will be expanded to 43.

The plan for transforming 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft will not only increase capacity, but will also help Postal Airlines to replace retired aircraft, effectively raising its level of safe operation.

Experts said that, thanks to the purchase, China Post will be able to upgrade its aviation capacity for express deliveries and gather strength and experience to open international routes in the future.