PARIS (AFP) - The Chinese regional carrier Hainan Airlines has finalized an order for eight Airbus A319 aircraft, with delivery scheduled from 2005 to 2007, the European aircraft maker said.
The order is part of an initial placement for 30 Airbus aircraft inked with five mainland carriers in April 2003, an Airbus official told the XFN-Asia news agency.
Hainan Airlines is to use the planes on medium and short-haul routes, Airbus said in a statement.
Financial details were not disclosed, but when calculated according to the catalogue price for A319s, the deal is worth between 400 and 490 million dollars.
"We are extremely happy to see that the fast-growing Hainan Airlines has become a new customer of Airbus, which marks a significant breakthrough of our business in China," said Airbus president and chief executive officer Noel Forgeard.
"We are confident that the features of the new A319s will give further impetus to the development of the carrier."
Hainan Airlines, in which US financier George Soros holds an indirect 14.8 percent stake, is the fourth largest airline group in China. It has a fleet of more than 100 aircraft operating over 500 domestic and regional routes.
Airbus, a joint venture between European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company and BAE Systems, now has about a 30 percent share of the market in China.
Airbus has publicly announced its goal of boosting that to 50 percent by capitalizing on the country's need for around 1,600 large aircraft in the coming 20 years.
The European aircraft maker has been actively lobbying Chinese airlines to buy its double-decker 555-seat super jumbo A380. It has submitted proposals to all three major carriers -- flag carrier Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
Meanwhile, US rival Boeing currently has a 65 percent share of China's jet market and is also successfully selling its B7E7, a fuel efficient twin-engine jet that the US firm is expected to begin delivering in 2008.
11/02/2004 - 19:19 GMT - AFP