CXoneWorld From Australia, joined Aug 2004, 311 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (7 years 10 months 1 week 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 3729 times:
Quoting SAS_A330-300 (Reply 1): The was maybe not signed until now but it has been known since the end of January.
There are obviously some conflicting reports on this. The Reuters had suggested that the contract signed today pertains to the January jet order as you have mentioned. However, the AFP quoted an Airbus spokesman that the deal was actually "entirely new".
Thanks. However the press release does not seem to be too helpful resolving the confusion as to whether today contract is in connection with the January announcement. Now does any A.netter have the answer for us?
Carnoc From China, joined Oct 2001, 875 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (7 years 10 months 1 week 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 3581 times:
To the best of my understanding, this is actually part of the deal finalised several months ago, but the signing of final contract had been postponed to this week due to a combination of various reasons.
PM From India, joined Feb 2005, 6717 posts, RR: 65 Reply 6, posted (7 years 10 months 1 week 1 day ago) and read 3051 times:
Unusually, RR anounced that they had won the engine order many weeks before Airbus announced the sale. It seems that this has been a done deal for months but, for some odd reason, neither Airbus nor Air China were ready to sign until now.
For the record, A330 sales in China now number 44:
Air China: 20 x A330-200
China Eastern: 5 x A330-200 & 15 x A330-300
China Southern: 4 x A330-200
plus in Hong Kong...
Cathay: 29 x A330-300
Dragonair: 16 x A330-300
So, mainland + Hong Kong = 89. (And every one, interestingly, with RR Trents.)
And, if you want to risk getting political, add in Taiwan and there's another 25:
China Airlines: 14 x A330-300
EVA: 11 x A330-200
(Both Taiwanese airlines have chosen GE engines.)
So, once they're all delivered that will be 114 A330s flying with B-???? registrations.
And, while I'm counting, and just to prove absolutely nothing, that compares with 87 767s and 777s of all models operating or on order in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
I guess this just further illustrates why Boeing needed the 787.
Backfire From Germany, joined Oct 2006, 0 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (7 years 10 months 1 week 19 hours ago) and read 2856 times:
This order has been known about for months - the MoU has been kicking about since October '04 at least, it was "officially" sealed (whatever that means) around January, but still hasn't appeared on Airbus' order books. I suspect it will now. There seems to be some tradition that all Chinese orders are announced about a dozen times...
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