BEIJING, March 25 (Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines

signed an agreement with Airbus on

Wednesday to buy 101 A320neo aircraft in a deal worth about

$15.8 billion at list prices, according to a company filing to

the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the company in

batches from 2028 to 2032, the filing showed.

Several Chinese carriers including Air China,

Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines

revealed plans in December to buy A320neo jets as the major

European aerospace company works to expand its share in the

world's second-largest aviation market.

China Eastern Airlines said the new jets will replace and

update its existing fleet and expand future capacity, boosting

aircraft efficiency, cutting fuel use and operating costs,

according to the filing.

The airline had in 2022 signed an agreement to buy 100

A320neo jets, which were planned to be delivered in batches from

2024 to 2027.

In 2024, China Eastern introduced 35 new aircraft to its

fleet, including Chinese planemaker COMAC's C919 and those from

the A320neo family and Boeing's B787 series, the company's

annual report showed.

Airbus has been in on-off negotiations in recent years to

try to grab a huge order of up to 500 jets in China - a type of

package often tied to state visits - but no deal was announced

when French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in December.