Biggest ever Airbus order

French Premier Dominique de Villepin and visiting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao looked on as senior Chinese aviation official Li Hai signed a US$9.6 billion deal to buy 150 Airbus planes, AP reported. "This is the largest single order that Airbus has ever received since it entered the Chinese market two decades ago," the company said of the purchase of the Airbus A319s, A320s and A321s all single aisle aircraft. This compares with the sale of 70 Boeing 737 jets, worth about US$4 billion, announced during last month's visit to China by President George W Bush.