China Southern, CASHC to buy more than 100 planes from Airbus

CHINA Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CASHC), which acts as purchaser for most mainland aircraft, and Guangzhou's China Southern Airlines, the country's biggest air carrier, have announced separate orders for more than 100 Airbus planes, reported Xinhua.

China Southern will buy 36 aircraft for US$3.78 billion from Toulouse-based Airbus, six A330s for $1.2 billion to be delivered between 2013 and 2014, and thirty A320s for $2.5 billion to be delivered between 2012 to 2015.

"China Southern Airlines is implementing a development strategy that will transform it into an international, network-oriented airline," said China Southern vice president Cheng Gang.

Mr Cheng made the statement at the signing of China Southern official accession to the SkyTeam Cargo alliance at the International Air Cargo Forum and Exposition in Amsterdam. Now the airline joins Aeromexico Cargo, Air France Cargo, Alitalia Cargo, Czech Airlines Cargo, Delta Cargo, KLM Cargo and Korean Air Cargo.

"We have been looking forward to co-operating with leading airlines around the world to speed-up our integration into the international aviation industry, build up our brand awareness and enhance our international competitiveness. SkyTeam Cargo is the perfect platform to allow us to obtain this goal," he said.

Of the new CASHC aircraft orders, 50 are for A320s while six for A330s and 10 for A350XWBs. According to the agreement, Xian-based CASHC, which usually acts as purchaser for all mainland aircraft, will buy 102 planes from Airbus, of which 66 are new orders. Orders for the remaining thirty-six A330s had been announced earlier, but not confirmed.
(Source:www.schednet.com)