Beijing: Airbus SAS, the world's largest planemaker, said it may secure orders from Chinese carriers in the next few months as the global economic recovery spurs travel demand.
"We are hopeful of some orders before the end of the year," Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday. "I just came from Beijing, and we are clearly discussing deals."
The planemaker may announce an order for at least 150 aircraft when Chinese President Hu Jintao visits France in November, newspaper La Tribune said on September 13.
"I think the French media occasionally get a little bit ahead of themselves," Leahy said.
More travellers
Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, hasn't signed a mainland Chinese order of comparable size since 2007, as airlines cooled expansion plans during a travel slowdown caused by the global recession. This year, China's nationwide passenger numbers have jumped 18 per cent amid domestic growth and an international recovery in business and leisure travel.
Chinese airlines have shown "a lot of interest" in planes ranging from single-aisle aircraft up to widebodies including the A350 and A380, Leahy said at an event to mark an order from Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd Airbus has opened an assembly plant in Tianjin, China, to help boost sales in the country.
Boeing Co has agreed to orders for a total of 30 737 planes from Air China Ltd, the nation's largest international carrier, and Okay Airways Co this year, according to its website.
Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co, won a $17 billion (Dh62 billion) China order for 160 planes in November 2007, following two $10 billion deals for 150 aircraft in 2005 and 2006. The planes are ordered centrally and then distributed to carriers.
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest carrier, yesterday confirmed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 planes, worth about $7.82 billion at list prices, it said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement. The airline won "significant price concessions," it said.
