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China Southern Airlines
signed a contract with Airbus today in Beijing for the purchase of ten additional Airbus A330s, which comprises eight A330-300s and two
A330-200s. China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group (CASGC) was also involved in
the deal by signing a General Terms Agreement (GTA) with Airbus. The ten
A330 aircraft will be delivered from 2007 to 2008.
“The selection of ten additional A330s will definitely
increase our capability and flexibility in the flight operation, especially in the domestic trunk and regional routes”, said
Si Xianmin, President of China Southern Airlines. “We believe that this acquisition of
additional A330s will not only further optimize the operation by improving the scale of economy of the A330 fleet, but also will help us to save pilot resources due to
cockpit commonality with our growing fleet of A320 family aircraft.”
China Southern Airlines, the first A330 customer on the Chinese Mainland, currently operates a fleet of over 60 Airbus aircraft, including 14 A319s, 27 A320s, ten A321s,
six A300s and four A330s. On April 21, 2005, the Guangzhou-based carrier ordered five A380s and became the first customer for the aircraft in China and the 15th in the
world.
The A330-200 is the
longest-range twin-engine Airbus aircraft in-service. A330 airliners have flown over five million operational hours with more than 60 customers and operators, including
Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific and Dragonair, which have 26 and 12 A330s respectively in service.
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