The world's largest aircraft manufacturer Airbus has sold almost 300 passenger jets in China. The manufacturer and the airlines China Southern, China Eastern, Air China and Shenzhen Airlines announced bulk orders for a total of 292 medium-haul A320neo family aircraft. The Dax group scored again against its competitor Boeing from the USA. The deals are the first major aircraft orders from China in around three years.
According to the price list, the Chinese orders have a total value of more than 37 billion US dollars (35.4 billion euros). Minus discount: China Southern Airlines pointed out that the actual price is less – large discounts are common when ordering aircraft. Long delivery times too: The jets ordered for China Southern are to be delivered between 2024 and 2027, and the company also wants to lease 19 machines in the series. Air China expects its new aircraft in 2023-2027, Shenzhen Airlines between 2024-2026.
ORDER BOOKS FULL
Aircraft types that are in high demand, such as the Airbus A320neo, have to be ordered several years in advance, since the order books of manufacturers in this segment are full to the brim – and production is fully booked for a long time.
By the end of May, Chinese operators had more than 2,070 Airbuses in operation – the aircraft fleet in China is expected to triple to almost 11,000 aircraft by 2040, according to Airbus forecasts. According to Airbus, the A320neo family promises at least 20 percent fuel and CO2 savings with 50 percent less noise.
Airbus and Boeing had significantly reduced their aircraft production due to the corona pandemic. In addition, Boeing has only been allowed to deliver its 737 Max jets again since autumn 2020, when the USA lifted the flight ban for the type after crashes. Since then, Boeing has been ramping up production of the series again, most recently to 31 jets per month.
Airbus is already a good deal further with the A320neo model family. From the last 45 to 50 machines, production is to be increased to 65 units per month by 2023. That would be more than ever. By the middle of the decade, Airbus boss Guillaume Faury had set himself the target of a record production of 75 jets per month.
The latest major orders for Airbus come a few weeks before the Farnborough Air Show in the UK, where aircraft manufacturers traditionally compete for large orders.
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