Certification of A330neo in China progressing well says Airbus boss  

The head of Airbus China has publicly stated that Chinese certification of its A330neo twin-aisle widebody “was going smoothly”, with the first delivery of the model to an airline based in the country potentially coming as “soon as 2025.”  

Talking to the media at the Airshow China event being held in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, Airbus China’s CEO George Xu added that the European-headquartered planemaker is expecting to see high demand from Chinse-based carriers for A330 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) cargo conversions as the requirement for air cargo capacity in the country continues to soar.  

The A330neo series has yet to be introduced to the country by home-grown carriers, although is thought to be high on many Chinese airlines’ wish lists due to its high capacity, and medium-haul capabilities making it ideal as a regional aircraft to fly high-frequency services between the country’s main hub cities. The market is currently served by mostly older Boeing aircraft such as the 777-200. 

On the freight side, surging demand related to the e-commerce and manufacturing markets has resulted in airlines needing more dedicated freighters but with lead time for new aircraft stretching far into the future, the demand for P2F conversions has been rising as a quicker solution to satisfy the prevailing market conditions.  

Alex Cheban / Wikimedia CommonsHowever, one factor overshadowing the potential progress of the A330neo in China will be the development of the domestically produced COMAC C929 widebody jet. This yet-to-be-built twinjet is being developed to compete directly against the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as well as the Airbus A330neo and A350.  

The C929, which is still in its preliminary design stage, is expected to accommodate 280 to 400 passengers (depending on configuration) and offer a range of around 7,457 miles (12,000 km). On November 12, 2024, the Chinese manufacturer announced Air China as the launch customer for the C929, with an order for an undisclosed number of airplanes placed at the Airshow China event. The aircraft was renamed from the CR929 after Russia left the joint venture in 2023. 

In recent years, Airbus has become the dominant supplier of Western-built aircraft to Chinese airlines, overtaking Boeing as a rift concerning trade, tariffs, and embargoes has deepened with the US government has deepened. This rift began during Donald Trump’s first term in office, as tensions between Washington and Beijing developed, and seem set to deteriorate further in Trump’s second term as president. Trump himself has already been quoted talking up the introduction of more stringent tariffs against China once he returns to the White House in January 2025.  

In the meantime, Airbus has slowly been increasing its presence across the Chinese market. The manufacturer first established an official presence in China in 1994 when it opened its first non-European-based final assembly line in the city of Tianjin in 2008. It now produces the A320neo single-aisle family of passenger aircraft at the plant, with the 700th example being delivered to Chengdu Airlines in July 2024. A quarter of all deliveries from Tianjin in 2024 were to non-Chinese airlines including easyJet and Wizz Air, Xu added.  

AirbusIn addition to the company’s final assembly plant in Tianjin, a completion and delivery center covering various post-construction activities including cabin furnishings installation, aircraft painting, and production flight tests was opened in 2017 for the A330 family of aircraft, becoming Airbus’ first wide-body airplane completion center outside of its founding countries of France, Spain, UK and Germany. 

Xu added that Airbus intends to develop its industrial supply chain in China in the coming years, noting that components produced by several Chinese companies are found on every Airbus-produced commercial airplane (regardless of model) currently in production. This was a vital strategy for Airbus to establish itself further as a truly global force in commercial aviation and manufacturing, Xu concluded.    

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