Airbus scores major win in China with orders for 148 A320 aircraft
The flurry of orders, worth billions of US dollars, marks a big victory for the European aviation firm over US rival Boeing in a key market
European aviation giant Airbus won another two major orders from Chinese clients for a total of 90 A320neo aircraft on Tuesday, just a day after receiving orders for 55 passenger jets of the same model from two other Chinese airlines.
Also on Tuesday, China Express Airlines announced it was purchasing three A320 planes at a list price of between US$390 million and US$420 million.
Air China, Beijing’s state-owned flag carrier, announced in a statement that it would purchase 60 A320neo narrowbody passenger jets from Airbus for a list price of US$9.53 billion, with the models set to be delivered between 2028 and 2032.
Airbus granted Air China a “substantial discount” on the list price and also offered credit to be used to settle the final payment or to buy other Airbus products and services, according to the statement.
The order is still pending approval by the company’s shareholders and the Chinese government, the statement added.