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Airbus sells 292 A320 aircraft to four Chinese airlines in a blow to Boeing, as US-China tension tips balance in European maker’s favour
- Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines ordered 292 Airbus A320 jets
- Boeing said it is disappointed that “geopolitical differences” continue to constrain US jets export to world’s second-largest aviation market
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Airbus has secured a bulk order for 292 of its A320 single-aisle aircraft from four Chinese airlines, as deteriorating US-China relations tipped the balance for aviation sales in the European manufacturer’s favour, dealing a blow to the American rival Boeing.
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China Southern Airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines are the four carriers buying the aircraft, Xinhua News Agency said. Details of how the bulk order would be allocated, and the price paid for each aircraft, were not immediately available.
The bulk order was close on the heels of China Southern’s decision in May to scrap more than 100 of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft – the direct competitor to A320 – from its fleet plan, as the nation’s largest carrier cited “uncertainty over deliveries.”
The Guangzhou-based airline, the very first to ground the 737 MAX in 2019 after back-to-back fatal crashes over five months by other carriers in Indonesia and Ethiopia, will reduce deliveries from Boeing to 78 planes through 2024, from 181 during a March forecast.
The A320 aircraft, a single-aisle jet that can carry between 150 and 180 passengers depending on configurations, is listed at US$101 million each. Bulk purchases are entitled to steep discounts from catalogue prices, and the aviation industry’s rule of thumb halves the total list price for an estimate of the order’s value.
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