London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Airbus secures mega-order from four Chinese airlines

Airbus secures mega-order from four Chinese airlines

The orders, for Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Shenzhen Airlines, total nearly €35.4 billion at list prices.

Four Chinese airlines have placed a mega-order for 292 single-aisle A320 family aircraft from airbus.

The deal, for Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Shenzhen Airlines, total nearly $37 billion (€35.4 billion) at the rarely applied list price.

Despite air traffic being paralysed in China by the pandemic, the need for aircraft remains immense.

For Airbus, these orders, which have yet to be finalised, "demonstrate the positive recovery momentum and prosperous prospects of the Chinese aviation market.

China Eastern will acquire 100 A320neo Family aircraft, while China Southern will acquire 96 of the same model. Air China and its subsidiary Shenzhen Airlines will acquire 64 and 32 A320neo aircraft respectively.

The airlines did not specify the A320 family models involved, but according to a source close to the matter, these include both A320s and A321s capable of carrying more passengers, as well as some smaller A319s.

All deliveries are scheduled to take place between 2023 and 2027, suggesting that the contract was negotiated long ago as available delivery slots become scarce for Airbus, which is faced with high demand for its single-aisle aircraft.

Although weakened by the pandemic, airlines around the world are seeking to prepare for global traffic growth, which is expected to double in the next 20 years compared to 2019. To do this, they are preparing to replace their fleets with more modern aircraft that consume less fuel and therefore emit less CO2.

And while air traffic in China remains atrophied by the country's severe health restrictions, it is expected to explode in the coming years. The fleet of aircraft in service in China is expected to triple by 2040 to nearly 11,000 aircraft, according to Airbus forecasts.

At the end of May, the European aircraft manufacturer's order book totaled more than 8,000 orders for A320 family aircraft.


Increase in production rates


When asked a few months ago about the absence of Chinese orders for several years despite the prospects for long-term growth, Airbus executive chairman Guillaume Faury expressed his confidence.

"There will be a need to renew this order book so that the airlines can regain visibility," he said in front of a few journalists.

This mega-order also reinforces the European aircraft manufacturer's ambition to increase its production rate to 75 A320 aircraft per month by 2025, according to a source close to the matter.

Some suppliers, including engine manufacturer Safran, have expressed doubts about the appropriateness of such rates, because of the investment that this would entail and the expected need in the long term.

Airbus had drastically reduced its production during the pandemic and has begun a gradual increase in output, with 45 A320 Family aircraft per month by the end of 2021. It expects to produce 65 per month by the summer of 2023 despite tensions in recent months over supplies and occasional difficulties in hiring.

The order comes as China has yet to certify the C919 jet from its national aircraft manufacturer Comac, which is intended to compete with the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 MAX. According to Comac, 815 of the aircraft have been ordered by Chinese companies.

Announced a few days before the Farnborough International Airshow in England, a traditional opportunity for aircraft manufacturers to announce this type of order, it is also a setback for Boeing and its 737 MAX, which was deemed fit to fly again by Beijing in December.

The American aircraft manufacturer is counting on the huge Chinese domestic market to regain its colours with its single-aisle competitor to the A320. The four companies that announced the Airbus order on Friday are already MAX customers.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
×