Chinese airline Sichuan Airlines Group Co. Ltd. will buy eight planes from Airbus SAS for delivery between 2005 and 2008, a spokesman for Airbus in China said on Tuesday. 

Sichuan Airlines would buy six A320 planes and two A319s, Airbus spokesman Gu Wei told Reuters. He didn't comment on the value of the deal.

The list price of an A320 is between $57.6 million and $61.6 million, while the list price of an A319 is between $50.6 million and $61.2 million.

Chinese freight forwarder Sinotrans Ltd. said in March that its Shanghai-listed subsidiary Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co. Ltd. would buy 49 percent of the registered capital of Sichuan Airlines.

Asia is a key battleground for Airbus, the world's leading commercial jet maker, and its chief rival, Boeing .

(CRI.com via Reuters May 17, 2005)