New Chinese airlines take off with A320
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Two new Chinese airlines have taken a major step forward in their development, with the signing of major aircraft deals with Airbus.
Qingdao Airlines, based in Shandong province, and Zhejiang Loong Airlines, which will operate from Zhejiang province, are both preparing to launch commercial flights in the coming months. And ahead of these debuts, both airlines this week penned major orders for the Airbus A320 aircraft.
Qingdao Airlines’ order includes five standard A320s and 18 of the new, fuel-efficient A320neo, with a total value of US$2.18 billion at current list prices. Meanwhile Zhejiang Loong Airlines has placed a firm order for 11 standard A320s and nine A320neos, worth US$1.84bn.
Both agreements were signed at the 15th Aviation Expo China 2013, which is taking place in Beijing this week.
“The Airbus A320… is ideal for start-up airlines with clear advantages in operational reliability, economics, cabin space,” said Liu Qihong, chairman of Zhejiang Loong Airlines. “I believe the Airbus A320 aircraft will help us to achieve the goal of building intensive domestic and international networks.”
“As a newly-established airline, we need to have a thorough research before we make a decision on what aircraft to introduce to start operation and build up our brand new fleet. We pay much attention to the reliability, economics and cabin comfort of the aircraft and also take the potential for our further fleet expansion into consideration. We believe the Airbus A320 family aircraft are the right choice,” commented Xiao Liyuan, president of Qingdao Airlines.
The deals with Qingdao Airlines and Zhejiang Loong Airlines formed part of a highly successful week for Airbus in China. The European planemaker also sold 25 A320-series aircraft to Bank of China’s aircraft leasing arm, BOC Aviation. In total, Airbus has taken orders worth more than US$4 billion this week.
Based at Hangzhou, Zhejiang Loong Airlines plans to start operating in 2013, initially flying domestic routes to destinations including Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Xi’an. The airline also plans to launch international routes in three to five years.
Qingdao Airlines meanwhile, plans to launch in 2014, operating domestic services from the port city of Qingdao.
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