China Eastern Airlines, one of the nation’s top three carriers, is raising as much as USD 2.2 billion from a sale of shares to help fund purchases of aircraft and engines as the company expands its fleet to meet surging demand for air travel.

The state-owned airline proposes to sell as many as 1.62 billion shares on the mainland to investors including the Juneyao Group, collecting 11.8 billion yuan (USD 1.8 billion) and a further placement of up to HK$3.55 billion (USD 452 million) of stock in Hong Kong, according to a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange Tuesday.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to finance the purchase of 18 planes worth USD 1.5 billion, including narrow-body jet such as Boeing’s 737s and Airbus’ A320s and wide-body jets such as the 787 Dreamliners and A350s, according to the filing.

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