April 27 (Bloomberg) -- China Airlines, Taiwan's largest air carrier, said it will pick the supplier of its new large airplanes by the end of this year, denying an Economic Daily News report that it had chosen Boeing Co. for the order.

The Taipei-based newspaper said today that China Air plans to buy 10 Boeing 747-8s for a total of about $2.5 billion and that a deal will be signed by the end of June.

``We haven't decided on the aircraft type or the amount,'' Bruce Chen, a spokesman for China Air in Taipei, said by telephone today. ``We're studying every aspect of the issue.''

China Air needs aircraft that can carry more than 400 passengers each to fly on long-haul routes to the U.S. and Europe, said Chairman Philip Wei on March 16. It will choose between the 555-seat A380 made by Airbus SAS and Boeing's 747-8, he said.

Boeing launched the 747-8, an updated version of the 747-400, in November last year as a challenger to the A380. The Chicago- based airplane maker has so far sold 18 of the 747-8 freighters. It is yet to sell a passenger version.

China Air will halve the number of aircraft types in its fleet to three next year to reduce maintenance costs, Wei said on March 16. The airline, which operates 67 planes as of September 2005, will sell some of its older planes, such as its Airbus A300s, and only keep its A330-300s, Boeing 737-800s and 747-400s, Wei said.