Airbus has received orders for 292 A320s from four Chinese airlines, as worsening US-China relations have put the aviation revenue balance at the expense of the European producer, dealing a blow to US rival Boeing.
Xinhua News Agency said that China Southern Airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines are the four airlines that bought Airbus's aircraft. There is currently no detailed information on how to allocate large orders and the price of each aircraft.
The large-scale order has been completed after China Southern's decision in May to remove more than 100 Boeing 737 Max aircraft - a direct competitor to the A320 - from the plan, as the Chinese airline is concerned about "uncertainty about delivery".
The airline, headquartered in Guangzhou - the first to suspend 737 Max flights in 2019 after five-month series of accidents involving the airline in Indonesia and Ethiopia - will reduce Boeing's orders to 78.
Meanwhile, China Eastern Airlines is still investigating the cause of the fatal crash of flight MU5735 - using a Boeing 737-800 - that killed all passengers and crew on the flight when it crashed into mountainous areas in the Guangxi region in March.
The A320 - a single-track aircraft that can carry 150 to 180 passengers depending on the design - is listed at 101 million USD per aircraft. Buying in large quantities is heavily discounted and the general rule of the aviation industry is to reduce half of the total listed price to estimate the value of the order.
China's state-owned airlines have a total of 2,070 Airbus aircraft in their fleets as of the end of May, according to China's Civil Aviation Authority.
The decision to add Airbus aircraft instead of Boeing shows China is making one of the most profitable deals in global trade for Europe, as Beijing and Washington continue to get caught up in trade disputes that have remained since President Donald Trump's time. US-China relations have been at their lowest level in more than four decades as disputes have broken out over a range of issues from the trade war to tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the East Sea.
Bloomberg quoted a Boeing spokesperson as saying on July 1: As a leading US exporter with a 50-year relationship with Chinas aviation industry, its disappointing that geopolitical differences continue to limit US aircraft exports.
Boeing continues to urge an effective dialogue between the US government and China, according to Reuters.
The large-scale orders prove that China - the world's second largest aviation market after the US - is showing momentum in recovering from the tourism decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Airbus said.
China is the fastest growing aviation market for both Airbus and Boeing, where both manufacturers have established complete assembly plants - Airbus in Tianjin and Boeing in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province.
Airbus and Boeing also have to compete with China's ambition to dominate a global aviation market share. The Chinese- assembled Comac C919 completed its first test flight in May.
These new orders demonstrate strong trust in Airbus from our customers, said Christian Scherer, sales director of Airbus, in a press release.
The Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) is negotiating with partners in some countries to select a gradual and regular increase in international passenger flights - a move that is beneficial to the sustainable development of the industry.
Total demand for global air travel in April increased by 78.7% over the same period last year, as the recovery of air travel continues after many countries lifted border restrictions related to COVID-19, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
