China Southern Airbus order

China Southern Airlines said on Monday its board had approved in principle the planned acquisition of 21 new planes from European plane maker Airbus.
The company has yet to sign an agreement with Airbus and details are being finalized, it said in a statement.
China Southern said it plans to buy 15 A320 aircraft and six A319 planes to expand its network and operating capacity.
The plan comes after China announced a bulk order for 30 Airbus jets in April last year. Those 30 planes were to be divided between five state airlines.
The airline also said its board had approved the purchase of six planes from Harbin Embraer, the Chinese joint venture with Brazil’s Embraer. The list price of each of the Harbin Embraer aircraft is about USD$20.1 million, China Southern said. The planes will be delivered in stages between 2004 and 2005.
Harbin Embraer is about 38.2 percent held by AviChina Industry & Technology, China’s largest mini-car and helicopter maker.