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| Airbus A321XLR |
International Military - Record-breaking, the company Airbus won one of its largest ever orders for 292 aircraft worth more than $37 billion.
The purchase of 292 Airbus aircraft from four Chinese airlines. It was seen as a coup for the European manufacturer as it tussled with Boeing for dominance in Asia's largest economy.
According to Simple Flying, Airbus has dealt a further blow to its closest rival, Boeing, winning orders for nearly 300 narrow-body aircraft worth more than $37 billion in one day.
The order is a record for the European aircraft maker, which looks set to extend its lead over its US-based rival in terms of orders for new aircraft by 2022. In addition to orders received from the four carriers involved, Airbus will supply an additional 19 aircraft through lease agreements.
Details of the bulk order have been announced by Airbus today, clearly proud of the breakthrough it has made in China's commercial aircraft market. The breakdown of this large order is broken down as follows: China Eastern Airlines - A320neo (100), Air China - A320neo (64), Shenzhen Airlines - A320neo (32), and China Southern - A320neo (96) plus 19 additional types by lease agreement.
Deliveries of the aircraft to China Southern will take place from 2024 to 2027, while deliveries of aircraft ordered by Air China will begin in 2023 to 2027 and to Shenzhen Airlines in 2024 to 2026.
China Eastern's order is the first to be made for a narrow body aircraft since the disappearance of flight MU5735 in March this year. The crash, which is officially still under investigation, involved one of the airline's Boeing 737-800 planes.
In recent months, the two major manufacturers have stepped up their efforts to win big orders from leading Chinese carriers, who have faced the dual dilemma of rapidly increasing demand in recent years combined with the need to replace older airframes in their fleets.
China, the world's most populous country, is an important market for Airbus and Boeing, and the latest order comes at a time of heightened political tensions between the US and China. Airbus shares rose as much as 4% after the announcement, while shares in Boeing fell 1.3% in US pre-market trading.
Given the large backlogs of orders held by both manufacturers, this commitment clearly demonstrates that while certain COVID-related travel restrictions remain in place across China, the country's aviation industry is optimistic about future growth in the travel sector. This latest announcement is the first significant order from a Chinese airline in the post-pandemic era.
According to Bloomberg, China Southern in May removed more than 100 of the US company's 737 Max jets from its short-term fleet plans, citing uncertainty over deliveries. The airline previously outlined plans to rapidly expand its 737 Max fleet, saying in March that 39 would be due this year, building a total of 103 deliveries through 2024.
Neither of China's other state-owned carriers have said whether they will be able to resume use of the Max once it officially returns to service.
China was the first to land the plane after fatal crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia in March the following year. However, Boeing managed to outsell Airbus in 2021 for the first time in three years on demand for the 737 Max.
The planemaker recorded 909 gross orders last year, compared with 771 sales at Toulouse, France-based Airbus.
Since the Max ban, Airbus has outpaced Boeing in grabbing orders and market share for the narrow-body jet, even as the European planemaker struggles to ramp up production to meet soaring demand.
Last month, Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said the engine's delayed arrival meant Airbus was unable to deliver a fully built jet. To meet growing backlogs, Airbus is pushing for an ambitious plan to increase production of the best-selling A320 family of jets to 75 per month by 2025 to expand its lead.
Airbus wants to start building the larger A321neo at its Tianjin site by the end of the year. India's fast-growing low-cost carrier IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is the world's largest customer for the A320neos, having ordered 730 of the jets.
By the end of 2021, China Southern, the country's largest airline, had a fleet of 399 Boeing narrowbodies, according to its latest annual report. It also had 334 narrowbodies Airbus A320 series aircraft at the end of last year.