CAS signs GTA for 140 Airbus aircraft
China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) has signed with Airbus a General Terms Agreement (GTA) for the purchase of a total of 140 aircraft.
Above:
Sun Bo Executive Vice President CAS NDRC, State President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Angela Merkel, Airbus CEO Tom Enders.
The agreement comprises of 100 A320 Family aircraft and 40 A350 XWB Family aircraft, reflecting the strong demand of Chinese airlines in all market segments including domestic, low cost, regional and international long haul.
The GTA was signed in Berlin by Tom Enders, Airbus CEO, and Sun Bo, Executive Vice President of CAS, in the presence of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“This big order is a great endorsement for our leading products in both single aisle and wide body segments”, said Tom Enders. “China is today one of the world’s most important markets for aviation and we are honoured to support the development and rapid growth of China’s civil aviation with our competitive product portfolio.”
The world’s passenger aircraft fleet above 100 seats is set to more than double in the next 20 years to over 40,000 planes as traffic is forecast to grow at 4.4% per year. Emerging markets such as China continue to be an engine for growth, with domestic traffic to become the world’s largest market, according to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast 2017-2036.
By the end of May 2017, the in-service Airbus fleet with Chinese operators totaled some 1,440 aircraft, of which nearly 1,230 are the A320 Family aircraft.