Korean Air Lines : to buy 20 Boeing 787s, lease 10 more

SEOUL (Reuters) - Korean Air Lines Co Ltd said on Wednesday it will add 30 Boeing Co Dreamliner passenger jets to its fleet, including what it said would be the country's first use of the largest Dreamliner model, the 787-10.

South Korea's biggest carrier in a regulatory filing said it will buy 20 Boeing 787-10s and lease 10 Boeing 787-9s.

The deal, also jointly announced at the Paris Airshow on Tuesday, gives a needed boost to the world's largest planemaker, which has suffered a sales drought following the grounding of its 737 MAX jets in March after two deadly crashes.

"The 787 Dreamliner family will become the backbone of our mid- and long-haul fleet for many years to come," Korean Air Chairman Walter Cho was quoted as saying in a statement.

The 787 planes will replace the carrier's existing aircraft such as its A330s, B777s and B747s, Korean Air said.

(Reporting by Hayoung Choi; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Christopher Cushing)

Stocks treated in this article : Boeing Company (The), Korean Air Lines Co Ltd