Dhaka: European aviation giant Airbus secured orders for 148 Airbus A320 family jets from multiple Chinese carriers and a lessor this week. Announcements from concerned parties and media reports have confirmed these deals.

On December 30, Chinese flag carrier Air China announced in a statement the airline has placed an order for 60 Airbus A320neo family aircraft at a list price of USD 9.53 billion. However, the planemaker granted a "substantial discount" on the list price and offered credit to be used to settle the final payment or buy other Airbus products and services. Air China expects to receive the newly ordered aircraft between 2028 and 2032.

In a separate announcement, published on the same day, Chinese state-owned aircraft lessor China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings (CALC) confirmed its order for 30 Airbus A320neo family jets, without disclosing the list price. The new order has been scheduled to be delivered by 2033, and it has taken CALC's total order for Airbus to 282 aircraft.

Also on the same day, China Express Airlines announced its deal for three Airbus A320 family aircraft at a list price between USD 390 and 420 million.

Prior to these announcements, on December 29, Shanghai-based Juneyao Air and Spring Airlines inked agreements with Airbus to acquire 25 and 30 Airbus A320neo family jets, respectively, at a total list price of USD 8.2 billion.

The orders came just weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to China, accompanied by Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. Earlier, speculations regarding China's big Airbus order for 100 to 200 aircraft had been circulating around for months.

For the last couple of decades, the Chinese aviation market has been growing rapidly at an unprecedented rate. The 2024 World Air Transport Statistics Report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows China ranked second among the Top Passenger Countries with 741 million passengers and an 18.7% increase compared to 2023.

To catch up with this growth, Chinese airlines are investing heavily in fleet expansions, and aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus are competing fiercely for Chinese aircraft orders. Securing orders for 148 aircraft clearly puts Airbus ahead in this competition, while its impact on Boeing's position in China remains unclear.