European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has secured another major order from China, as Eastern Airlines announced on the 25th that it has signed a contract in Shanghai with Airbus to purchase 101 A320 NEO series aircraft.
Public information shows that this is the largest order for civil aviation aircraft by China in the past four years, second only to the joint purchase of 292 aircraft by Air China, Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines in July 2022, which was also for Airbus A320 NEO series aircraft.
On the 25th, Eastern Airlines announced that the company signed a purchase agreement with Airbus in Shanghai on March 25, 2026, to buy 101 A320 NEO series aircraft. The catalog price of these aircraft totals approximately $15.802 billion (62.569 billion ringgit). The planes are scheduled to be delivered in batches between 2028 and 2032.
Currently, Eastern Airlines has a total of 823 aircraft, among which the A320 series accounts for 388, nearly half of the fleet.
Eastern Airlines stated that it expects at least 53 A320 series aircraft to be retired during the delivery period of the new planes, due to lease expirations or aircraft age, so this batch of aircraft will partially serve as replacements for existing models.
The purchase of 101 aircraft this time also brings the total number of Airbus's recent orders from China to 249, but this is still less than half of the previously rumored target of 500.