Dragonair takes delivery of fifth new aircraft this year

Dragonair has taken delivery of its fifth new aircraft this year, an Airbus Industrie A330, which expands its passenger fleet to 21 aircraft.

"The delivery of this aircraft successfully completes our fleet expansion plans for 2002," said Stanley Hui, Dragonair's Chief Executive Officer. "But it will continue again in 2003 with the planned addition of two A321s."

Dragonair has previously taken delivery of four aircraft this year - one A330, one A321, one A320, and a Boeing 747-300 freighter.

The new, purchased A330 is powered by two engines from Rolls-Royce, and features a twin-aisle, triple-class cabin.

The aircraft will enter service in January 2003 on Beijing and Shanghai routes from Hong Kong.

With the arrival of the A330, Dragonair's passenger fleet has an average age of 3.58 years.

Dragonair is a Hong Kong-based airline, operating a fleet of nine A330-300s (including the latest arrival), four A321s and eight A320s, in addition to three Boeing 747-300 freighters. The airline's passenger network covers 28 destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, while its cargo network connects the markets of Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Taiwan and China Mainland.