China Eastern Airlines signed an agreement with Airbus on Wednesday to buy ​101 A320neo aircraft in a deal worth about $15.8 ‌billion at list prices, according to a company filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the ​company in batches from 2028 to 2032, the ​filing showed.

Several Chinese carriers, including Air  Spring Airlines and ⁠Juneyao Airlines, revealed plans in December to buy A320neo ​jets as the major European aerospace company works to expand ​its share in the world's second-largest aviation market.

The new aircraft will be joining the carrier’s substantial fleet of single-aisle Airbus planes that are currently operated. According to Planespotters.com, these include 31 A319s, 257 A320s, and 101 A321s. The company also operates the A330 (56) and the ultra-long-haul A350-900 in its long-haul fleet.

The Airbus A320neo family continues to ride high in China

European planemaker Airbus has seen its success among Chinese airlines grow in recent months. In December, flag carrier Air China announced it had signed an agreement with Airbus for the supply of 60 A320neo aircraft worth $9.5 billion, bolstering its short-haul fleet. Like China Eastern, Air China is already an extensive Airbus operator, with 219 single-aisle and 73 twin-aisle aircraft already flying on its behalf.

Earlier in December, Chinese low-cost carrier Spring Airlines, one of China’s most prominent budget operators, said it planned to buy 30 A320neo-family aircraft. The airline stated that the total value of the transaction would not exceed $4.1 billion at catalogue prices, and that the aircraft would be delivered progressively between 2028 and 2032. 

Around the same time, Juneyao Airlines, a full-service operator headquartered in Shanghai, outlined its own plans to purchase 25 A320-family aircraft. The airline said it estimated the value of the deal at approximately $4.1 billion based on list prices, with deliveries similarly scheduled for the 2028–2032 period.

The carrier operates a mix of Airbus narrowbodies and Boeing widebodies, including A320-family aircraft on domestic and regional services, alongside A321s and Boeing 787-9s. 

China forms an important part of the  Airbus family

Not only is China one of the fastest-growing aviation markets globally, but it also continues to bring in new orders for Airbus as the company looks to expand its footprint in the country. Since 2008, the company has built single-aisle aircraft at its final assembly plant in Tianjin. The Tianjin facility was Airbus’s first aircraft assembly facility outside Europe and marked a major step in its global expansion.

The plant is a joint venture between Airbus and Chinese partners, including the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. It primarily assembles aircraft from the A320 family, one of the world’s most widely used single-aisle jetliners.

Since delivering its first aircraft in 2009, the Tianjin facility has produced hundreds of planes for airlines in China as well as others around the world.

Over time, the site has been upgraded to assemble newer models such as the A321neo, reflecting Airbus’s commitment to innovation and efficiency. In recent years, Airbus has expanded operations in Tianjin by adding a second assembly line to increase production capacity and meet growing global demand for aircraft, particularly from Chinese-based carriers, plus others in the Asia-Pacific region.  

Source: Reuters/Aerospace Global