News
China approves 140 Airbus orders
July 7th 2017
During Xi Jinping’s visit to Germany for the G20 meeting this week, the Chinese president, German chancellor Angela Merkel, executive vice president of China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS), Sun Bo, and Airbus CEO, Tom Enders, signed a General Terms Agreement (GTA) for the acquisition of 100 A320 Family single aisle jets and 40 A350 long-haul jetliners. Read More » Airbus said the order reflected the strong demand of Chinese airlines in all market segments, including domestic, low-cost, regional and long-haul.
“China is today one of the world’s most important markets for aviation, and we are honoured to support the development and rapid growth of China’s civil aviation with our competitive product portfolio,” said Enders.
The GTA does not equal a new order announcement, Airbus explained to Orient Aviation. “This GTA is an agreement with the Chinese government via the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). It approves the acquisition of 140 aircraft, which will then be allocated to the airlines, with which we have negotiated deals already,” Airbus said, and added the manufacturer could “not comment on the allocation to the various Chinese airlines” as that was up to the Chinese authorities.
This week’s GTA will not be reflected in the Airbus order book, meaning Chinese airlines have ordered 50 A350s to-date only: 20 each for China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines and 10 for Air China.
Mainland carriers operate approximately 1,440 Airbus aircraft, including some 1,230 A320 single aisle planes, which left significant room for improvement in the wide body market for the European manufacturer.
