With more than 3,200 aircraft sold worldwide, Airbus says that the A320 Family is the undisputed leader in the single-aisle jetliner marketplace. The Family comprises four aircraft that share the same cockpit, fly with the same operating procedures, and have the same cabin cross-section and systems. This large diverse market would need 1790 aircrafts by 2022, of all sizes and capabilities. Domestic traffic is expected to continue to account for the largest portion of traffic in the next 20 years.  Trunk routes between cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou will require optimized medium range twin aisle aircraft like the A330.  The largest demand category will be 100-200 seats like the A320 family flying domestically. Growing international traffic, bolstered by the Olympics in Beijing and the World Expo in Shanghai would be partly accommodated by airlines flying the A380s into China.  The rapidly growing freight operations out of China are also now stimulating much interest in the A380F, by airlines both in China and overseas.  The A320 family is firmly established in China. The A319 has successfully gone into operation at several high altitude airports in the country, allowing further development of the domestic network into remote regions.

CASGC President Li Hai and Airbus President and CEO Gustav Humbert signed the GTA in Paris in the presence of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. With a total value close to US$ 10 billion, the order for 150 A320 family aircraft comprises A319s, A320s and A321s, marking the largest single order that Airbus has ever received since it entered the Chinese market two decades ago. The 150 aircraft will be delivered to six Chinese airlines, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, and Hainan Airlines.

"Since it was first introduced into the Chinese market in 1995, the A320 family aircraft has been put in-service by 10 Chinese operators with a total of 216 aircraft, accounting for 2/3 of all in-service Airbus aircraft, or nearly 1/4 of the total aircraft in operation in China. The demand for this modern and cost-saving aircraft family from Chinese airlines has been rapidly increasing in recent years," said CASGC President Li Hai. "We are very pleased to sign the record-breaking GTA with Airbus today and to be a part of this historic order for China. We look forward to an even closer relationship with Airbus and further improving our service to Airbus’ Chinese customers and operators."

"We are delighted and proud to see such great business success in China, which not only indicates the strong demand and the rapid growth of this dynamic market, but also shows a new and significant vote of confidence in our best-selling aircraft family from our Chinese customers," said Airbus President and CEO Gustav Humbert. "Today’s GTA is no doubt the best way to celebrate our 20-year-long close cooperation with China. We will continue to provide the Chinese customers and airlines with the best family of aircraft and full technical support to ensure smooth and profitable operation of all Airbus fleets in China, while also studying possibilities to continue upgrading the cooperation to new levels between the Chinese civil aviation industry and Airbus."

By the end of October 2005, the A320 Family had more than 3,900 firm orders from some 145 customers worldwide. It is the recognised technological leader in single-aisle aircraft category, with all its members sharing the highest degree of commonality and economy, benefiting operators by their reduced maintenance and training costs.

Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE Systems.