European aircraft maker Airbus has had no order cancellations from Chinese airlines so far amid the global industry downturn according to its China president.
China’s three biggest carriers have all predicted losses for 2008 as a slowing economy curbs air travel, spurring the government to encourage cancellation or postponement in deliveries of plane orders.
A few Chinese airlines have asked for delays in taking delivery of previous orders but none has canceled, Laurence Barron told Reuters on the sidelines of an event to mark the delivery of an A320 single-aisle plane to China’s privately owned Spring Airlines.
He said, ‘We have some discussions to help certain airlines get through the difficult period, but we are talking about a relatively small number of aircraft. We don’t have any significant problem at the moment in delivering our aircraft.’
He expected the country would need about 3,000 planes over the next 20 years.
Airbus runs a joint assembly venture in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, which makes aircraft in the A320 family.