Southern Airline buys 21 Airbus jets

Southern Airline buys 21 Airbus jets

PARIS: China Southern Airlines recently agreed to buy 21
Airbus aircraft, Chinese President Hu Jintao told a press
conference here on Tuesday.

"To my knowledge, China Southern Airlines and Airbus very
recently agreed on the acquisition of 21 Airbus planes and we are
very happy to have received this news," Hu said at a press
conference where he appeared alongside French President Jacques
Chirac.

An Airbus spokesman confirmed that an agreement in principle
had been reached, adding that the planes in question were in the
A320 family.

Airbus, which trailed U.S. rival Boeing in starting to do
business in China, at the moment has a market share there of
about 30 percent. There are currently 217 Airbus planes in
service in China.

President Hu is on Thursday to visit Airbus headquarters in
the southern French city of Toulouse.

The European group has high hopes for China, where it aims to
sell more than 800 aircraft over the next 20 years. -- AFP