China Southern to buy 10 Airbus planes worth US$2.27b

Beijing

CHINA Southern Airlines announced Wednesday it would buy 10 aircraft worth a total US$2.27 billion from European aerospace giant Airbus, as a Chinese boom in air travel defies slowing economic growth.

The carrier, one of China's "big three" with the largest fleet by size, will take delivery of the A330-300 medium-to extended-range jets between 2017 and 2019, it said. It was the company's second major purchase this month following a US$10 billion order for 110 planes from Boeing.