While the Boeing 737MAX remains grounded in China, 18 Airbus A320neos have been purchased by Air China from AFS Investments Inc, a subsidiary of aircraft lessor GECAS.
This is a major boost for Airbus in its efforts to compete against COMAC and its soon-to-be-certified C919 narrow-body passenger jet. Based on list prices, the order is worth approximately US$2.24 billion, with deliveries expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Air China commented that an attractive exchange rate and low financing costs had been major factors when agreeing the purchase, while this is the first deal involving Air China and Airbus since the Chinese carrier bought 20 A350s in 2019.
GECAS is the air finance arm of General Electric and terms were agreed earlier this month for AerCap to purchase it for US$30 billion, which will make AerCap the largest aircraft lessor with control of an estimated 18% of the current global leased fleet of Western-manufactured narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.
