Airbus Stock Gains as China Southern Orders 137 Jets
Airbus stock has a fresh demand signal after China Southern Airlines said on April 29 that it will order 137 A320neo family aircraft. The carrier split the purchase between 102 jets for itself and 35 for Xiamen Airlines, with deliveries running from 2028 through 2032.
China Southern Airlines April 29
137 aircraft make this the latest large-scale commitment tied to Airbus narrowbody demand, and the list-price value reaches $21.4 billion. China Southern said the purchase will help enhance the Group’s market competitiveness by increasing its flight capacity, giving the airline a larger pipeline of aircraft to replace or add to existing service over several years.
102 A320neo family aircraft are going to China Southern itself, while 35 aircraft are assigned to its partially owned subsidiary Xiamen Airlines. That split matters because the order is not a single-fleet purchase: it feeds two carriers with different backlog positions and engine histories, which will shape how the aircraft are absorbed into service.
Xiamen and China Southern backlog
5 unfilled A320neo orders out of 38 and 41 unfilled A321neo orders out of 99 already sit in China Southern’s backlog, according to Airbus data. All nine A319neos in China Southern’s fleet have been delivered, leaving the airline with a substantial outstanding pipeline even before the new order is added.
18 A320neos are also in Xiamen Airlines’ backlog, bringing its total on order to 22, while another 18 A321neos take that total to 20. The latest purchase extends both airlines’ future fleet planning rather than filling an immediate near-term gap, since the aircraft do not arrive until 2028.
Engine split and timing
167 A320neo family aircraft in the China Southern fleet already use both Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan and CFM LEAP-1A engines, while Xiamen’s aircraft only have CFM engines. China Southern and Xiamen have not identified the engine supplier for the latest order, leaving the propulsion mix unresolved for a deal that will unfold over four delivery years.
96 aircraft were ordered by China Southern in July 2022, and the new commitment comes after China Eastern Airlines ordered 101 A320neo family aircraft at the end of March. If those deals hold, Airbus keeps turning major Chinese carrier renewals into multiyear production visibility, and the next investor focus is on how quickly the 2028-2032 delivery slots translate into logged revenue rather than just signed paper orders.
