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Airbus Said to Expect No China Plane Orders in 2009 (Update1)

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By Irene Shen

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS, which had been in talks with China about an order for as many as 200 planes, doesn’t expect to sign any deals in the country this year, according to two executives at the planemaker.

The company may still win agreements for deals to be completed when the market recovers, one of the people said. The two executives declined to be identified as they aren’t authorized to reveal the information.

Airbus’ plans to sign its fourth Chinese order for more than 150 planes since 2005 have been delayed even after it opened an aircraft-assembly factory in Tianjin last year to boost its presence in the country. Worldwide, the planemaker’s and Boeing Co.’s orders and deliveries are tumbling as airlines struggle for credit and passengers curb flights on the recession.

For Airbus, “China is such a killer part of their strategy outside Europe,” said Doug McVitie, managing director of Dinan, France-based Arran Aerospace, a consulting company. “At the cost of the Airbus plant in Tianjin -- which it built for China

To contact the reporter on this story: Irene Shen in Shanghai at [email protected]

Airbus Denies Expecting No Chinese Airplane Orders This Year

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By Irene Shen

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS, the world’s largest commercial-plane maker, denied expecting no plane orders from China this year.

The report “is not true,” the aircraft-maker said in an e- mailed statement late yesterday. The market is “challenging.” Still, “we are in steady talks with our Chinese customers.”

Chinese carriers have damped expansion plans as they contend with the nation’s waning economic growth and overcapacity in the airline fleet. China Eastern Airlines Corp., the country’s third- largest carrier, said yesterday that it will cancel some Airbus and Boeing Co. plane orders.

Two Airbus executives, who declined to be identified, told Bloomberg News earlier this week that the planemaker didn’t expect to win any orders from China this year.

To contact the reporter on the story: Irene Shen in Shanghai at [email protected]