OREANDA-NEWS. Boeing and Kunming Airlines today announced a Memorandum of Understanding for the purchase of 10 737 MAX 7 airplanes at the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow.

With this agreement, Kunming Airlines, an all-Boeing fleet customer in China, would become launch customer in China for the improved 737 MAX 7 airplane. The agreement further enhances the strategic cooperation between Boeing and Kunming Airlines.

"We look forward to welcoming Kunming Airlines as a 737 MAX 7 launch customer in China and finalizing the deal in the near future," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner.

The improved 737 MAX 7 will open new opportunities for airlines and provide exceptional performance out of high elevation airports. The airplane offers 12 more seats in a 2-class interior configuration and more than 20 in a maximum seating configuration, compared to the Next-Generation 737-700. It will also use 5 percent less fuel per seat and have 500 nautical miles (926 km) more range capability.