Airbus reaches 140-jet deal with China

Airbus SE won orders from China to supply 140 singleaisle and wide-body jets worth $22 billion at list prices and said it’s in talks to sell more A380 superjumbos there after the signing of accords on closer cooperation in the aviation and space sectors.

The European plane-maker secured a deal for 100 A320-series jets split between current and new-engineoption versions, as well as 40 of its latest twin-aisle A350s, Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said Wednesday in Berlin during a visit to the German capital by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“This is a great endorsement of our leading products in both the single-aisle and wide-body segments,” Enders said. “China is one of the world’s most important markets for aviation today.” Talks are underway regarding a deal for more A380s to add to five sold to China Southern Airlines Co., with Airbus seeing demand for as many as 100 superjumbos in the region, he said.

Airbus already has a narrow-body production line in Tianjin, east of Beijing, and output of the A320s will be split between that site and Europe, according to Enders.