Airbus finalises 86 plane orders in China

SHANGHAI, June 28 (Reuters) - Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) has finalised orders for 86 narrow-bodied A320 aircraft with several Chinese airlines, the aircraft maker said on Thursday.

The deal was part of a bulk order for 150 A320 jets it secured from the Chinese government during then-French President Jacques Chirac's visit to the country last October.

Shenzhen Airlines has placed orders for 28 jets, while Sichuan Airlines has ordered 18 and Hainan Airlines (600645.SS: Quote, Profile, Research), partly controlled by billionaire financier George Soros, has ordered 13, an Airbus spokesman in China said.

Smaller carriers Junyao Airlines and Spring Airlines each ordered six planes, while state aircraft trader China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corp. took the remaining 15, he added.

The French firm, which is competing fiercely with Boeing (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in the fast-growing China market, has agreed to set up an aircraft assembly facility with three Chinese partners in the northern port city of Tianjin.

Airbus holds 51 percent of the venture, which is scheduled to start production in 2009 and will be capable of delivering 44 Airbus A320 jets per year.

Its three Chinese partners are AVIC I and AVIC II, the country's two state-owned aircraft makers, and the free trade zone in Tianjin where the facility is located.

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