Chinese airlines order 95 Airbus jets with list price of US$17.8 billion to expand fleets

A China Southern Airlines Airbus A380-800 takes off from Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, in October 2020. (Loren Elliott/Reuters/FILE)

HONG KONG, July 17 (Reuters) - Three Chinese airlines will buy a combined 95 Airbus aircraft for a total list price of about US$17.8 billion, as carriers in the world’s second-largest aviation market push to expand capacity and modernize their fleets with more fuel-efficient jets.

Air China and its unit Shenzhen Airlines will buy 55 Airbus aircraft for a total list price of US$12.4 billion, while Hainan Airlines separately agreed to purchase 40 A320neo-family jets for a list price of up to US$5.4 billion, according to filings with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Air China, the country’s flag carrier, agreed to buy 15 A350-900 wide-body jets, while Shenzhen Airlines will separately purchase 40 narrow-body A320neo-family aircraft. The A350-900 jets, with a list value of about US$6.09 billion, are scheduled for delivery between 2030 and 2032. The 40 A320neo family aircraft, valued at about US$6.35 billion, are slated for delivery between 2029 and 2032. Hainan Airlines’ 40 A320neo jets are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2032.

Air China said in the filing the actual transaction prices will be lower than the listed values, with Airbus offering significant discounts, a standard practice for sizeable aircraft orders.

The orders come as Chinese carriers continue to rebuild and expand their fleets following the pandemic, even as the country’s biggest airlines face a more challenging outlook. Air China on Tuesday flagged a net loss of up to 2.6 billion yuan for the first half of the year, saying elevated fuel prices had “drastically squeezed” its profit margins.

Other Chinese carriers have also been placing large orders with Airbus. China Eastern Airlines last month said it plans to buy 25 A330neo jets for about US$9.35 billion, after announcing plans in March to purchase 101 A320neo aircraft for about US$15.8 billion. In April, China Southern Airlines and its subsidiary Xiamen Airlines agreed to buy 137 aircraft for US$21.4 billion.

The new jets are expected to boost the total capacity by about 7.1 per cent for the Air China group and 4.3% for Shenzhen Airlines, based on the group’s combined passenger and cargo capacity as of December 31, 2025, though some of the aircraft will replace aging jets being retired.

The A320neo family competes with the Boeing 737 MAX on medium-haul routes, while the A350-900 is widely used on long-haul international services.

(Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong, Time Hepher in Paris, Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Susan Fenton and Chizu Nomiyama )