Bank of China Aviation (BOC Aviation) recently announced it will add 80 Airbus A320neos to its fleet. BOC Aviation is one of the largest aircraft leasing companies worldwide, managing 530 Boeing and Airbus aircraft operating across the globe. This brand new order will be the largest order ever placed by BOC Aviation.

The order consists of 20 A320neo, 50 A321neo, and 10 A321XLR. Those jets are highly acclaimed by carriers, and they are in high demand in the market now.

Continued Partnership

“We are proud to continue our long-standing relationship with Airbus, with whom we have partnered for more than 26 years,” said Robert Martin, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOC Aviation in the joint news release with Airbus.

Headquartered in Singapore, BOC Aviation already holds 125 Airbus A320neos, 33 of which are yet to be delivered. A320neo series jets are extremely popular among carriers, and the family already received over 7,900 orders worldwide. Boeing has its 737MAX to compete with Airbus A320. However, fatal crashes caused by its Maneuver Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) followed by the prolonged grounding of 737MAX made Boeing finds itself in second place in a two-person race.

High Demand Jet

BOC Aviation did not specify the end customer for those jets. BOC Aviation has customers around the world, and its main customers are carriers in Asia. The three state-owned carriers of China, Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern announced their ambitious fleet expansion plan, despite the record-high loss they made in 2021.

Air China, in its year-end report, laid out a plan to add 17 Airbus A320neo series jets in 2022. Additionally, the carrier will also introduce 9 Airbus A350s. Albeit the disappointing results of over a billion dollars loss, the airline is still maintaining a high rate of fleet expansion.

China southern planned 12 deliveries of the Airbus A320neo series in 2022. It also plans to receive 39 new Boeing 737MAX. Recently, China southern announced that it will retire all its Airbus A380 fleet due to high operating costs. The carrier is optimizing its fleet with more flexible and economical types of aircraft.

As the international oil price continues to fluctuate at a high position, airlines are motivated to upgrade their fleets to reduce fuel costs. Airbus A320neo reduced 20% of fuel consumption as well as CO2 emissions compared to the previous generation of Airbus A320ceo. With this advantage, Airbus developed A321LR and A321XLR, using the saved fuel to extend the range of aircraft. A321XLR is capable of flying 8,300km, which is 40% further than the previous generation of A321.

As the world continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the traveling demand is bouncing back dramatically. The market is no longer the same as we see before the pandemic. With the help of aircrafts such as Airbus A321XLR, international or even intercontinental flights are not only the privilege of mega-metropolis anymore. More and more cities will be connected with mid-level, long-range aircraft, and the dynamic will continue to fuel the future growth of the global aviation market.

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Lei Yan

Lei is from Inner Mongolia, China, and now lives in Guangzhou. He grew up in an aviation family, where his passion began. During his time at Penn State University, he studied Industrial Engineering specializing in operations research, and he graduated with an honor’s thesis on airport gate assignment optimization. Now, he is a Purchasing Manager with Procter & Gamble. In his free time, he enjoys flying, reading, and wandering around the city.

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