Cathay Pacific has signed an agreement with aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation for the sale and leaseback of six of the 19 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft it has on order. CEO Tony Tyler said the move was consistent with the airline’s “cashpreservation” strategy saying Cathay had no intention of cancelling aircraft orders.

“However, we are in negotiation with aircraft manufacturers to defer some of our deliveries to align our capacity with expected demand. We believe this is a prudent step to take,” he said.

The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2011. Cathay currently has 39 aircraft on order for delivery before 2013 which will join its fleet of 122 aircraft.