Airbus has entered into new cooperation agreements with the Chinese aviation industry during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to China.
Airbus inked a General Terms of Agreement (GTA) with the China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) for the purchase of 160 Airbus commercial jetliners. The GTA comprises earlier announcements for 150 A320 Family aircraft and ten A350-900 widebody aircraft orders.
Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, said, “We are honoured to continue our long-standing cooperation by supporting China’s civil aviation growth with our leading aircraft families. It underpins the positive recovery momentum and prosperous outlook for the Chinese aviation market and the desire to grow sustainably with Airbus’ latest generation, eco-efficient aircraft. Airbus values its partnership with the Chinese aviation stakeholders, and we feel privileged to remain a partner of choice in shaping the future of civil aviation in China.”
Airbus has also agreed to expand the final assembly capacity of the A320 Family with a second line at its Tianjin site, contributing to its overall rate objective of 75 aircraft per month in 2026 throughout its global production network.
The airframer presently has four A320 Family final assembly sites worldwide: Hamburg (Germany), Toulouse (France), Mobile (USA) and Tianjin (China).
The Tianjin Final Assembly Line started operation in 2008 and has assembled over 600 A320 Family aircraft to date. The first A321neo was delivered from the line in March, marking a new era of enhanced A320 Family production versatility.
China’s air traffic is forecast to grow 5.3% annually over the next 20 years, significantly faster than the world average of 3.6%.
This will create a demand for 8,420 passenger and freighter aircraft till 2041, representing more than 20% of the world's total demand for around 39,500 new aircraft in the next 20 years.
Airbus entered the Chinese market in 1985 by delivering an A310 to China Eastern Airlines. Today, there are over 2,100 Airbus jetliners in service in China.
Also Read