Airbus signs deal to sell 140 planes to China

Reuters reports Airbus has signed an agreement to sell 140 aircraft to China in a deal worth almost $23 billion at list prices. The agreement, signed during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Germany, is for 100 A320 family aircraft and 40 A350 planes, Airbus said. “It’s one of the biggest deals that we’ve signed in a long time,” Airbus Group Chief Executive Tom Enders told journalists after signing the deal in Berlin. The planes will be purchased by state-owned China Aviation Supplies Holding Company, which will then allocate them to Chinese airlines. The A320 planes will be a mixture of the older CEO and the new NEO version with revamped engines, while the majority of the A350 orders are for the -900 model. The deal is flexible pending negotiations with the airlines. Enders said he expected up to 50% of the A320 family planes would come from the Airbus final assembly line in China.