Airbus SE is negotiating a major sale of A330neo aircraft to China, with some of the largest Chinese airlines considering buying more than 100 of the upgraded A330 models, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
The terms are still being discussed and the timing is uncertain, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Airbus declined to respond to the Bloomberg report and said that it does not comment on confidential discussions that may or may not be taking place with customers.
The details of the deal come on the heels of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, last month.
Reuters reported in April that France-based Airbus was in preliminary talks over a potentially major order with China, the world’s second-largest aviation market.
It was not immediately clear whether the slowdown would put at risk overall delivery targets for 2024 since deliveries lag output decisions by months, but the sources said assembly of several dozen jets could be delayed in the second half. Several airlines could see individual deliveries – already running an average of 1.5 months behind schedule – further delayed, the sources said, asking not to be identified.
Airbus has previously said it expects China’s traffic to grow by 5.3 per cent annually over the next two decades, outstripping a global average of 3.6 per cent . In April last year, the company agreed to build a second assembly line for its A320neo narrow-body family in the country during a state visit by Macron.
In the past, China has tended to split jet purchases between Airbus and Boeing but deals with the U.S. planemaker have slowed significantly in recent years amid trade or political tensions.
