(July 17): Airbus SE won orders from Air China and Hainan Airlines with a total transaction value of about US$17.8 billion ($23.0 billion), giving the European plane-maker a commercial boost a few days before a marquee aviation exhibition.
Air China purchased 15 A350-900 widebody aircraft as well as 40 A320neo series for its Shenzhen Airlines subsidiary for US$12.4 billion. Hainan ordered 40 A320neo jets for as much as US$5.36 billion.
The deals, announced in separate filings to the Shanghai stock exchange on Friday, add to a series of successful sales campaigns for the European plane-maker, which has gained an edge over Boeing Co in the world’s second-largest aviation market in recent years.
China typically orders aircraft from Airbus and Boeing in bulk and then distributes them among its state-owned carriers.
In March, Airbus won an order from China Eastern Airlines Co for 101 A320neo aircraft. Late last year, state-owned Air China Ltd bought 60 Airbus aircraft in a long-anticipated transaction worth US$9.53 billion. That same month, Airbus signed sales deals with private Spring Airlines Co and Juneyao Airlines Co for a combined US$8.2 billion.
Aircraft customers tend to receive steep discounts on list prices for airliners, particularly when large purchases are involved. Airbus and Boeing will compete for orders at this year’s Farnborough Air Show, which kicks off near London early next week.
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Boeing has worked to end its its lengthy order drought in China. During a May visit by Donald Trump to the country, the US president said China agreed to order 200 “big” Boeing jets, though it still remains unclear what aircraft were included in that agreement.
Prior to that accord, China hadn’t unveiled a major Boeing order since Trump last visited the country in 2017, and much of that deal was announced previously.
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