Boeing ( BA :NYSE - news - research ) is making important progress on plans to sell more than $7 billion worth of 787 Dreamliner passenger jets to Chinese airlines.
Four airlines -- Air China, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines -- have signed definitive firm orders for 42 Dreamliners with list prices totaling $5.04 billion, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.
A Boeing spokeswoman, Yvonne Leach, confirmed the firm orders, which cement parts of a broader preliminary agreement struck in January to sell 60 Dreamliners to six Chinese airlines.
Two of the carriers -- Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines -- still haven't signed firm orders, but Leach said Boeing continues to work at completing those agreements.