China Southern and Xiamen Airlines order 137 Airbus A320neo aircraft in $21.4bn deal

China Southern Airlines and its subsidiary Xiamen Airlines have placed an order for 137 Airbus A320neo family aircraft with a combined catalogue value of $21.4 billion (€19.7 billion), extending a months-long run of large narrowbody orders from Chinese carriers.

According to India News Net, the deal is the latest in a series of significant Airbus orders placed by Chinese airlines. Air China, Spring Airlines and Juneyao Air announced combined purchases of 115 A320neo and A320-family aircraft on 30 December 2025, while China Eastern Airlines signed an agreement for 101 A320neo family aircraft on 25 March 2026. Collectively, recently announced agreements cover more than 350 Airbus single-aisle aircraft with a combined catalogue value approaching $55 billion (€50.6 billion), with deliveries scheduled in batches between 2028 and 2032.

George Xu, executive vice president of Airbus and CEO of Airbus China, said the company remained confident in China's fast-growing aviation market and business environment. "China's commitment to high-standard opening up provides a more stable and resilient environment for Airbus development," he said.

Airbus said its fleet share in China has grown from approximately 20% in 2008 to more than 50% today, with Chinese airlines currently operating more than 2,000 A320-family aircraft. China is now Airbus's largest single-country market for civil aircraft.

The orders are also expected to support Airbus's expanding production footprint in Tianjin, where a second A320-family final assembly line began operations in October 2024, bringing the manufacturer's global total to ten A320-family lines.

China's civil aviation airports handled nearly 1.53 billion passenger trips in 2025, up 4.8% year on year, with Airbus forecasting Chinese passenger traffic growth of 5.3% annually over the next two decades.

Get the full story, including Airbus's long-term China forecasts and production expansion details, in the complete story.