Airbus has announced orders for up to 68 aircraft at this week’s Aviation Expo in Beijing, led by two start-up airlines and aircraft lessor BOC Aviation.
Zhejiang Loong Airlines based in Hongzhou in Eastern China has signed an MoU for 20 A320s. The airline has recently been approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to begin domestic operations later this year from from Hangzhou to Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Xi’an. The airline has ambitions to start regional and international routes in three to five years.
Meanwhile, Qingdao Airlines, a newly-established airline based in the Eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, will purchase 23 A320s. The first delivery is expected to begin in 2016, with the new airline starting operations next year with leased A320s.
BOC Aviation – the Singapore-based aircraft leasing subsidiary of Bank of China – has announced the purchase of 25 A320 family aircraft comprising A320 and A321 variants. The order comes less than a year after BOC’s previous order for 50 A320 family aircraft, raising the company’s cumulative orders for new Airbus aircraft to 212.
