TOULOUSE, France, 30 Aug. 2012. ICBC Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. in Tianjin, China, will buy 50 A320ceo and 20 A320neo single-aisle passenger jets from Airbus in Toulouse, France, under terms of an agreement announced today.
The aircraft leasing company is buying the Airbus A320 family passenger jets "in anticipation of increasing demand of the aviation markets in China, Asia Pacific region and the world as well," says Li Xiaopeng, senior executive vice president of ICBC and chairman of ICBC Leasing. No dollar value of the deal was released.
The ICBC Leasing deal, which involves 30 A320ceo and 20 A320neo aircraft, is the second major aircraft sale for Airbus this week involving the A320 family. On Tuesday Philippine Airlines ordered 34 A321ceo, 10 A321neo and 10 A330-300 passenger aircraft as part of a major fleet modernization program.
By the end of July 2012, there were more than 700 A320 family aircraft in operation with 15 Chinese airlines. More than 8,500 Airbus A320 family aircraft have been sold and more than 5,100 delivered to more than 365 customers and operators worldwide, Airbus officials say.
The A320neo is a new engine option for the A320 family entering into service from 2015 and incorporates latest generation engines and large "Sharklet" wing tip devices, which together will deliver 15 percent in fuel savings, Airbus officials say.
The Airbus A320 typically seats 150 passengers in a two-class cabin, or as many as 180 in a high-density layout for low-cost and charter flights. The aircraft makes extensive use of weight-saving composites, an optimized wing that is 20 per cent is more efficient than previous designs, a centralized fault display for troubleshooting and low maintenance costs, and fly-by-wire flight controls.
For more information contact ICBC Leasing online at www.icbc.com, or Airbus at www.airbus.com.
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