Airbus Remains Bullish on China Widebody Demand Despite Overcapacity

Despite persistent overcapacity in China’s air transport market, Airbus remains confident in long-term widebody demand in the country, pointing to replacement needs and recent traction for its A350F and A330neo programs.

“We see a large A330ceo fleet in China,” said Joost van der Heijden, Airbus head of marketing for commercial aircraft, speaking at the Singapore Airshow. “There is strong potential going forward for new widebodies serving domestic regional markets as well as international routes, and also a replacement market for the [Boeing] 777 over time.”

He added that Airbus continues to engage closely with Chinese stakeholders to assess demand. “We are working closely with the market in China to identify the requirements, but we see strong potential for additional widebodies in the Chinese market.”

Aviation Week Fleet Discovery data shows that Chinese carriers currently have only 20 passenger widebodies on order: three A350-900s for Sichuan Airlines and 17 A330-900neos for Hainan Airlines. In the cargo segment, Air China Cargo has placed an order for six A350Fs.

The data also shows that 162 A330-200s and -300s remain in service with Chinese operators, with the majority more than 10 years old, underscoring a potential replacement opportunity.

However, none of China’s three largest state-owned airlines—Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines—currently have outstanding orders for new passenger widebody aircraft, even though the trio has collectively ordered more than 200 A320neo-family aircraft.

China’s overcapacity problem became more pronounced following the COVID-19 pandemic, driven largely by a slower-than-expected recovery in international flying. Cross-Pacific traffic, particularly services to the US, has lagged amid strained bilateral relations, weighing on long-haul fleet utilization.