(Yicai) Dec. 31 -- Air China has placed an order for 60 A320neo aircraft valued at about USD9.5 billion, giving Airbus its second major deal in its largest market in as many days.

Airbus will offer China’s flag carrier a significant discount on the A320neo's catalog price, so the actual cost will be lower than USD9.5 billion, Beijing-based Air China said in a stock exchange filing yesterday. The planes will be delivered in batches between 2028 and 2032.

A day earlier, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines said they would buy 25 A320 and 30 A320neo aircraft, respectively. Each order has a catalog value of about USD4.1 billion, but the final prices will be determined by further negotiations and are expected to be lower, they noted.

The A320 is one of the world's most-used single-aisle passenger jets, with around 11,300 in service. More than 2,000 fly in China, accounting for nearly half of the country's civil aviation fleet. The A320neo is the next-generation upgrade of the A320.

Air China’s shares [SHA: 601111] closed 3.3 percent higher at CNY9.37 (USD1.34) each in Shanghai today, bringing this year’s gain to almost 19 percent.

2025 marked Airbus' 40th anniversary in the Chinese market, with its market share climbing to more than half from about 20 percent in 2008, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive for China Xu Gang said at a ceremony to deliver the 800th A320 held on Dec. 17 at its Tianjin final assembly line.

Editor: Martin Kadiev