Industry Chinese airlines order 292 Airbus A320 Family aircraft

The carriers Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, and Shenzhen Airlines have announced a consolidated order for a total of 292 Airbus aircraft of the A320 Family. This major commitment represents the trust in a positive market recovery after the current crisis.

Airbus stated, that once relevant criteria are met, the orders will enter Airbus´ aircraft backlog. All airlines are current Airbus operators and have been using aircraft from the A320 Family for years. By the end of May 2022, these four airlines had an Airbus fleet of 2,070 aircraft.

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International, commented: “These new orders demonstrate the strong confidence in Airbus from our customers. It is also a solid endorsement from our airline customers in China of the performance, quality, fuel efficiency and sustainability of the world's leading family of single aisle aircraft […] We commend the excellent work by George Xu and the entire Airbus China team as well as our customers’ teams for having brought to conclusion these long and extensive discussions that have taken place throughout the difficult COVID pandemic.” 

Air China was founded in 1988 and operates with a fleet of 471 aircraft. The carrier flies with an Airbus fleet of 33 Airbus A319s, 89 A320s, 87 A330s and 17 A350 XWBs and has its main operational hub at Beijing.

China Southern Airlines was founded in the same year and has a fleet of 642 aircraft, consisting of 364 Airbus aircraft: 12 A319s, 145 A329s, 152 A321s, 40 A330s, 12 A350 XWBs and three A380s. The airline operates mainly from Guangzhou Baiyun.

Just like the other airlines, China Eastern Airlines was founded in 1988 as well and has a fleet of nearly 600 aircraft. The carrier is the largest A320 operator with 246 aircraft. Furthermore, the operator uses 35 A319s and 77 A321s for its domestic backbone. For longer or higher density routes, China Eastern operates with 55 A330s and 12 A350 XWBs.

Compared to the other airlines involved in this latest deal, Shenzhen Airlines has the smallest fleet with 201 aircraft. The Airbus fleet consists of eight A319s, 103 A320s and six A330s. Shenzehn Airlines was founded in 1992 and started operations a year later.

All four airlines are major carriers within China and in the Asian market. The bolstering of these already extensive fleets means great trust in the market recovery after these difficult circumstances. Deliveries are expected to begin in the coming years.