Visitors to an Airbus delivery center in Toulouse on Monday saw
at least two Airbus A330 aircraft and one smaller A320-family
jet in position for handover to HNA-affiliated airlines. An
electronic sign welcomed crew for an imminent A320 delivery.
"Some (HNA) planes will be delivered," an industry source said.
However, another six A330 aircraft painted in flame-red HNA tail
liveries remained parked in long-term storage elsewhere in
Airbus's Toulouse base, according to Reuters journalists, who
were attending an event at the facility for the first delivery
of the upgraded A330neo version to TAP Portugal.
“Deliveries are ongoing. Contractual terms are confidential,” an
Airbus spokesman said, when asked about HNA deliveries.
Companies belonging to the Chinese aviation-to-finance
conglomerate delayed payments earlier this year, leading Airbus
to suspend deliveries rather than step in to provide delivery
financing itself, Reuters reported in July.
Airbus said last month it hoped to resolve by year-end an
unidentified commercial issue surrounding current-generation
A330 airplanes, which industry sources afterwards linked to the
HNA payments stand-off.
Under pressure from Beijing, HNA Group is in the process of
selling some $20 billion of assets, according to Reuters
calculations and media reports, following a $50 billion
acquisition spree.
Airbus aims to deliver a total of 782 aircraft this year
including the stored HNA aircraft.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher. Editing by Jane Merriman)
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