Airbus gets China nod for jet deliveries, still awaiting new order

Airbus has secured Chinese agreement to go ahead with the delivery of 120 previously ordered jets, the company said, but the deal signed in Beijing leaves the European planemaker still waiting for progress on a new order for hundreds of jets.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited China last week for talks that covered geopolitics and trade but excluded any mention of 500 plane orders that Airbus has been discussing for over a year – a type of package often tied to state visits.

French media reported on Monday that Airbus had won a deal that could lead to 120 new orders in future. Airbus, however, said the so-called general terms of agreement (GTA) deal was merely a step towards completing orders already on its books.

“This GTA agreement authorises the delivery of aircraft already counted in our order book, which is standard procedure with Chinese customers,” an Airbus spokesperson said.

China’s state buying agency did not respond to a request for comment.

Both Airbus and Boeing are waiting for progress on large anticipated aircraft orders from China, which has held off placing major politically sensitive orders for several years.

Airbus has been in on-off negotiations since at least 2024 to try to secure an order for 500 jets, though China typically moves cautiously on big purchases during periods of geopolitical uncertainty, industry sources said in April.

Airbus has been banking on a breakthrough to catch up with its U.S. rival in this year’s order race and meet an internal order target of about 1,200 aircraft, industry sources have said.

However, barring a surprise shift, industry sources say there are few signs that either of the world’s big planemakers will clinch major set-piece orders from Beijing this year.

Airbus posted 700 net orders after cancellations in the first 11 months of the year, compared with 782 for Boeing by end-October, the latest period for which Boeing data is available.

Airbus is expected to outpace Boeing on deliveries for a seventh straight year even after lowering forecasts last week due to an industrial snag affecting some fuselage panels.

Earlier on Tuesday, the head of the global airlines body IATA said in Geneva that there was less confidence in Airbus meeting aircraft delivery targets, while Boeing’s performance had improved, amid ongoing supply-chain issues.