Airlines
Sichuan Airlines orders A350
September 23rd 2016
Sichuan Airlines this week became the third Mainland carrier to select the A350XWB, following Air China (10) and China Eastern Airlines (20). Read More »
On Monday, the Chengdu-headquartered carrier announced it had signed lease agreements with AerCap for three -900s, with a fourth airframe sourced from Air Lease Corp. (ALC). The airline expected the first A350 delivery in 2017, which it plans to fly on long-haul services, particularly to the U.S.
The Sichuan provincial government-owned airline has 110 aircraft: 102 A320 Family jets and eight A330s. Founded in 1986, with its first flight made in 1988, the airline began to add long haul flights to its network, to Dubai, Moscow and Prague, from 2014. It intends to start a four-weekly A330-200 Chengdu-Los Angeles route before year-end after a postponing a September launch. It has applied for A320 traffic rights between Chengdu and Chongqing and Kalibo from October.
Tianjin Airlines president, Liu Lu, in June hinted of an A350 commitment when he said the A320, the A330, and the A350 would form the core of the carrier’s fleet. Neither Tianjin nor its parent, Hainan Airlines (HNA Group), has officially ordered the A350, but HNA’s Hong Kong Airlines has 15 A350-900s on order from 2018.
