Dragonair takes delivery of ninth Airbus A320

Dragonair has taken delivery of its ninth Airbus A320, which increases its passenger fleet to 25. The purchased aircraft, which features the airline's new cabin interior, is scheduled to enter service at the end of this week, by which time the airline's 10th A320 will have also been delivered.

"The delivery has been timed to allow us to meet demand over the busy summer holiday period," said Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui. "The new aircraft will operate on secondary routes in the Mainland, allowing us to increase frequencies to cities such as Hangzhou and Nanjing and to enhance Hong Kong International Airport as a gateway to the China Mainland."

The single-aisle A320 is powered by V2500 engines from IAE, and can seat eight passengers in Business Class and 144 in Economy Class.

Dragonair operates a fleet of 10 A330-300s, six A321s and nine A320s (including the one delivered last week), in addition to three Boeing 747-300 freighters, one wet-leased A300B4 freighter and one Boeing 747-200 freighter.