Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines signal renewed Chinese narrowbody demand with major Airbus orders
December 30, 2025
China’s commercial aviation sector has delivered another boost for Airbus with major narrowbody orders in the closing days of 2025.
Two Shanghai-based airlines are reportedly planning for sizeable Airbus A320-family acquisitions that extend well into the next decade.
Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines order 55 aircraft
Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines have separately disclosed proposed narrowbody purchases that together would add 55 aircraft to their future fleets.
The announcements, made via filings to the Shanghai Stock Exchange and reported by Reuters, come at a time when China’s airline industry is contending with a US trade war which impacted its ability to purchase Boeing aircraft over the summer.
Deliveries to the two Chinese carriers are not scheduled to begin until the latter half of the decade.
The plans demonstrate continued reliance on Airbus narrowbodies as the backbone of Chinese short- and medium-haul operations, while Boeing orders were temporarily paused and Comac’s offering remains a small part of the mix.
Spring Airlines expands Airbus A320neo pipeline
Low-cost carrier Spring Airlines, one of China’s most prominent budget operators, plans to buy 30 A320neo-family aircraft.
The airline stated that the total value of the transaction would not exceed $4.1 billion at catalogue prices, although industry-standard discounts would result in a substantially lower actual price paid.
According to the reported filing, the aircraft would be delivered progressively between 2028 and 2032.
Spring Airlines did not specify the precise variant mix, but the A320neo family aligns closely with its existing single-type narrowbody fleet strategy, which comprises the A320ceo and A320neo, and the A321neo.
As with all major aircraft acquisitions in China, the transaction remains subject to regulatory and governmental approvals.
Juneyao Airlines outlines parallel Airbus narrowbody deal
Juneyao Airlines, a full-service operator also headquartered in Shanghai, has outlined its own plan to purchase 25 A320-family aircraft.
The airline also estimated the value of the deal at approximately $4.1 billion based on list prices, with deliveries similarly scheduled for the 2028–2032 period.
The carrier operates a mix of Airbus narrowbodies and Boeing widebodies, including A320-family aircraft on domestic and regional services, alongside A321s and Boeing 787-9s.
The fact that both airlines are targeting delivery slots several years from now is notable.
China remains one of the world’s largest aviation markets, but its airline sector continues to face near-term challenges, including geopolitical uncertainty and a relatively slow recovery from the COVID pandemic.
With Comac’s A320 competitor, the C919, not yet challenging the duopoly, airlines are left with Airbus and its long lead times.
Airbus seeks momentum in China
Taken together, the Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines plans underline Airbus’s increasingly central role in China’s commercial aviation market at a time when alternatives remain limited.
With Boeing effectively sidelined by trade tensions and Comac’s C919 still ramping up at a cautious pace, Chinese airlines planning fleet growth later this decade are being funnelled towards Airbus by default. Long lead times for A320neo-family aircraft reflect both sustained demand and constrained global production capacity, forcing carriers to secure delivery positions years in advance.
Recent developments point to a broader effort by Airbus to rebuild momentum in China after a turbulent period for aircraft procurement. Last month, Air China Cargo became the first mainland Chinese operator to commit to the A350 freighter, a deal that signalled renewed engagement between Airbus and state-backed carriers.
For now, the latest narrowbody disclosures suggest that, despite geopolitical uncertainty and a slower post-pandemic recovery, Chinese airlines are once again planning for long-term growth. In the absence of meaningful near-term competition, Airbus appears set to remain the backbone of China’s short- and medium-haul fleets well into the 2030s.
Featured image: byeangel / Wikimedia
