Airbus secures order for 300 aircraft

Airbus has inked a deal with China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) for 300 aircraft worth tens of billions of Euros at list prices.

Signed in Paris by Guillaume Faury, President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft and future Airbus CEO; and Jia Baojun, Chairman of CAS, the deal covers the purchase for 290 A320neo family aircraft of an undisclosed breakdown and 10 A350 wide-bodies.

Witnessing the signing event was Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, as seen in the image below.

Between 2018 and 2037, Airbus predicts the Chinese aviation industry will need 7,400 new passenger and freighter aircraft, representing 19% of the total demand worldwide in that period.

Reflecting on the order was Guillaume Faury, who stated the following:

“We are honoured to support the growth of China’s civil aviation with our leading aircraft families – single aisle and widebodies. Our expanding footprint in China demonstrate our lasting confidence in the Chinese market and our long-term commitment to China and our partners.”

Airbus notes the A320 Family, including the neo, has accumulated over 14,600 orders over its lifetime, making it one of the best selling narrow-body aircraft ever.

Due to the anonymity of the A320neo order breakdown, it’s unclear as to which of the two engine choices were selected out of the Pratt and Whitney Geared Turbofan and CFM International LEAP.

The A350 is exclusively powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine, which has flexibility in thrust depending on the aircraft variant selected.