Air China has announced the purchase of nearly two dozen A320neos

The Chinese airline Air China will buy almost two dozen A320neo aircraft. This means further support for the European manufacturer Airbus, which is competing with the American rival Boeing for a share of the lucrative Chinese market. Air China announced on Thursday that it will buy a total of 18 A320neo narrow-body machines from AFS Investments, a division of the leasing company GECAS. According to information from last week, it is bought by the Irish leasing company AerCap. The two largest companies in the field of aircraft leasing thus join forces. The value of Air China's order, based on list prices, is $ 2.24 billion (€ 1.88 billion), with deliveries expected by the end of next year. Prior to the latest order, Air China announced its interest in Airbus aircraft in 2019, when it purchased 20 A350s. Boeing is currently doing less well in the Chinese market. Its 737MAX narrow-body aircraft have been grounded in China for two years. Beijing decided to withdraw them from the sky, like other states, after two tragic accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia in late 2018 and early 2019, which claimed 346 lives.