China's big three airlines put off Boeing and Airbus deliveries

China's three major state-owned airlines put off delivery of over 100 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus last year -- but kept every single order from Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, in a show of support for the domestic manufacturer during the coronavirus pandemic. Their choice highlights COMAC's strategic importance. But given the dominance of the American and European behemoths, the Chinese airlines are expected to fulfill most of their orders in the coming years, as recovery of their domestic aviation market is way ahead of the others. The big three Chinese carriers -- China Southern, China Eastern and Air China -- held off on a total of 58 planes from Boeing and 53 from Airbus in 2020. Comparing the actual changes in each of their fleets with plans disclosed in their respective annual reports last April, China Southern has put off a net 44 planes, followed by China Eastern's 43 and Air China's 24. The airlines had not responded to queries on Nikkei Asia's calculation by the time of publication. In the case of China Eastern and Air China, Airbus had more orders postponed than Boeing. Both airlines were planning a mass introduction of Airbus -- mostly its A320 series -- in 2020. But while they planned to increase their Airbus fleets by 37 and 31 respectively on a net basis, actual net delivery was only nine planes each. The two carriers had placed very few orders with Boeing in the first place. While Airbus added a net 18 planes in their combined fleets, Boeing lost a net 13 planes.<br/>