Tibet Airlines Orders Three A319s

Lhasa-based Tibet Airlines, which obtained the approval of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in March 2010, has signed a commitment to acquire three Airbus A319s.

The aircraft will be able to accommodate 128 passengers in a two-class configuration, with eight first class seats. The carrier plans to operate the A319s both on routes within the region and to major destinations across China.

High mountains make it extremely difficult to develop road traffic on the Tibetan plateau which is around 4000 meters in altitude on average. This makes it more efficient to travel by air in Tibet.

“Air traffic will play a key role in the social and economic development of the Tibet Autonomous Region,” said Liu Yanping, General Manager of Tibet Airlines. “The proven high altitude flight performance of Airbus A319 was key in our intent to start our operations with this aircraft. In anticipation of the growing demand for air transport in the region, we are planning to expand our fleet to some 20 aircraft in the next five years.”

“The high altitude performance of the Airbus A319 which has been proven by more than six years of commercial operations in and out of Lhasa and the RNP [Required Navigation Performance] validation in 2007 makes the aircraft an ideal and natural choice for Tibet Airlines. We wish Tibet Airlines a prosperous future with our world’s leading aircraft,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

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