China's top airlines post losses amid slow international travel

China's leading state-owned airlines posted losses in the first half of the year, weighed down by a slower-than-expected rebound in international travel, domestic oversupply, and more intense competition as aviation capacity returns globally, reports Sophie Yu in Beijing and Lisa Barrington in Seoul.

China's top three airlines - Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines last reported annual net profits in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

China Eastern, headquartered in Shanghai, reported a first-half loss of 2.8 billion yuan ($395 million) on Friday, compared with a loss of 6.2 billion in the same six months of last year.

"Ticket prices in the domestic market have decreased year-on-year ... due to intensified competition in the domestic passenger transportation market, lower-than-expected recovery of some international markets, as well as the competition from high-speed rail," it said in a filing.

The country's flagship carrier Air China posted a first-half net loss of 2.78 billion yuan, narrower than a loss of 3.45 billion in the same period last year, it said on Thursday.

China Southern Airlines reported a net loss of 1.23 billion yuan in the first half, narrowing from a 2.9 billion loss a year earlier. The Guangzhou-based airline made a 760 million yuan profit in the first quarter.

Air China said international traffic grew in the first half, with passenger numbers above 80% of 2019's pre-pandemic levels. But it said its traditionally "advantageous" North American routes were recovering slowly.

Low Demand

Flights between China and the United States have been held up by political issues and low demand and are around a fifth of what they were in 2019, flight schedule data from Cirium and China-based aviation data provider VariFlight show.

China Southern Airlines starts service between Urumqi and Samarkand

Direct flights between Samarkand and Urumqi have been initiated between Air Marakanda, operator of Samarkand International Airport, and China Southern Airlines, China’s largest air carrier. 

An opening ceremony, attended by the management of Air Marakanda and China Southern Airlines, took place at the terminal of Samarkand International Airport, where passengers enjoyed a thematic photo zone, a tea ceremony with sweet treats and Samarkand mulberry paper adorned with Chinese calligraphic inscriptions. According to tradition, a water arch greeted the arrival of the flight at the airfield of Samarkand Airport, and the first passengers arriving from China enjoyed the sounds of karnaya and harsh played by local musicians.

 

At a press conference featuring Air Marakanda CEO of Anton Khodzhayan, Commercial Director Artem Pak, Head of the Samarkand regional branch of the Civil Service Development Agency Rustam Kobilov and General Director of China Southern Airlines’ office in Tashkent Shen Yi, the participants noted the great potential of flights between Samarkand and Urumqi.

 

Anton Khodjayan, Air Marakanda’s CEO, said:  “We are pleased to welcome China Southern Airlines, whose direct flights between the ancient city of Samarkand and Urumqi mark a major new step for Uzbekistan aviation and tourism. China Southern Airlines’ new Urumqi link will expand the opportunities for both direct flights between Uzbekistan and China, and for new international connections via the vast connection network of Western China’s largest city.”

 

Shen Yi, General Director of China Southern Airlines’ office in Tashkent, added:  “We see many more prospects for development in the field of tourism and trade between the two states and in the spirit of reviving the Great Silk Road, founded many centuries ago, China Southern has plans to open even more new routes between China and Samarkand in the near future.”

 

Samarkand to Urumqi flights to start in October with China Southern Airlines

The Uzbekistan airport management company Air Marakanda, has announced the opening of a new flight between Samarkand International Airport and Urumqi which will be operated by China Southern Airlines.   

The route will start on 16th October with the outgoing flight leaving on Mondays at 1:30 am and the return flight from Urumqi International Airport is scheduled for 23:20pm on Sundays. All flights will be operated on modern Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a two–class layout of business class and economy.  

Dmitry Martynenko, Commercial Director for Air Marakanda, said:  “This announcement marks a new step in the growing relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Uzbekistan. This new gateway will further promote strong interconnectivity and collaboration between our two nations and provide a new economic pathway for capital to flow for both business and tourism respectively.” 

Urumqi is one of the most landlocked major cities in the world. Located on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, historically the region has long had strong business ties with Central Asia, as among the core traffic are business travellers and independent traders.

China is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and the opening of direct flights will help strengthen trade and economic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The route network of Urumqi Airport consists of 69 domestic destinations, which will allow passengers to use Urumqi Airport as a hub to visit the largest business, industrial and tourist cities of China.

China Southern Airlines dropping 737 MAX from its fleet.....

According to unconfirmed reports, China Southern Airlines has been in negotiations with Boeing about dropping out of an order for Boeing 737 MAX jets. It would appear the airline has dropped the 737 MAX from its planned aircraft delivery schedule until at least 2025. China Southern's Chairman Ma Xulun told investors as recently as last week that the firm plans to receive 30 aircraft in 2022, 36 in 2023, and 12 in 2024, all excluding the 737 MAX.  

A Boeing spokesperson said "We communicate regularly with all of our customers. Our delivery commitments and customer expectations have not changed."

The domestic aviation industry in China has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic seeing passenger numbers down by over 90% which is causing all airlines to rethink their fleet development plans.  

China Southern has retrained some pilots in the operation of the MAX jets prior to the lockdowns in preparedness for when Chinese aviation regulators would clear the model for flight again. However,  no new plans have been put in place. 

China Southern says delivery timetable for Boeing 737 MAX jets not confirmed By Reuters (investing.com)

You can own your very own China Southern 737 MAX aircraft. 

View here....

Two new Boeing 787-9 aircraft for China Southern Airlines

Air Lease Corporation has announced the delivery of two new Boeing 787-9 aircraft on long-term lease to China Southern Airlines. Featuring GEnx-1B76A engines, these new Dreamliner aircraft are the fourth and fifth of five new 787-9s to deliver to China Southern Airlines from ALC’s order book with Boeing.

“We are pleased to announce that our fourth and fifth of five new Boeing 787-9s have delivered to China Southern Airlines,” said Jie Chen, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Asia – President, Air Lease Corporation Hong Kong Limited. “ALC is honoured to contribute to our long-term customer’s continued success as one of Asia’s premier airlines.”

China Southern Boeing 787 Model

This large and highest quality scale resin model of a China Southern Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is 1/150 scale model and has a wingspan width of 44cm and a nose-to-tail length of 43cm.

Also includes:  Metal display stand with a plastic mahogany wood-styled base. Available here from air models.

The ARJ21 arrives for China's big three!

Photo COMAC

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has announced the delivery of three brand new ARJ21 aircraft to three of China's biggest airlines in a special joint delivery ceremony.

The ARJ21 first entered commercial operations around four years ago and is China’s first home-produced commercial passenger jet.  ARJ21 aircraft is a new turbofan regional jet independently developed by China and thus far a total of 28 ARJ21 aircraft have been delivered to and operated by three commercial customers including Chengdu Airlines, Genghis Khan Airlines and Jiangxi Air. Up to now, ARJ21 aircraft have successively operated in more than 55 routes in more than 55 cities in the regions such as North China, Northeast China and Southwest China, and carried more than 860,000 passengers.

Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines have now received the aircraft, which has a seating capacity of between 78 to 90 and a range of 2,225 to 3,700 kilometres.

Earlier this month COMAC confirmed an order for 100 aircraft, split between the ARJ21 and larger C919 models from China Express Airlines, with deliveries for the smaller aircraft to start towards the end of this year.

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President Trump to ban Chinese Airlines from flying into the US

   

                In a move likely to cause major retaliation and tension, the US President Donald Trump has instigated a travel ban on Chinese passenger aircraft from flying to the United States from 16th June.

Tensions are simmering away to an almost boiling point between the two nations, as the US wants to put pressure on China to allow US airlines to restart air services.  The stance by the U.S. Department of Transportation under Trump's instruction is aimed at penalizing China for what the U.S. says is failing to comply with an existing agreement on flights between the two countries. 

This order applies to Sichuan Airline, Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and  Xiamen Airlines.

The Trump administration accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for U.S. airlines to resume service to China and ordered four Chinese carriers to file flight schedules with the U.S. government.

Chinese airline partners support KLM

KLM works with three Chinese airline partners: China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines. These partners have now stepped in to generously support KLM and the Netherlands by donating many tens of thousands of face masks and gloves to KLM in our struggle against the coronavirus outbreak. In light of scarce resources at Dutch hospitals, KLM will in turn be helping the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and other Dutch healthcare institutes.

Today, in the early hours of the morning, the first shipment arrived at Schiphol carried by one of Xiamen Airlines’ aircraft. On behalf of the employees of the three Chinese airlines, KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers accepted this first shipment of in total around 90,000 face masks and 50,000 pairs of gloves. KLM’s CEO was accompanied by Ernst Kuipers, Chairman of the Boards of Erasmus MC and the Dutch Network for Acute Medical Care (Landelijk Netwerk Acute Zorg – LNAZ), and Brinio Veldhuijzen van Zanten of KLM Health Services.

Over the past 20 years, KLM has established a broad-based route network, coupled with especially close relations in China. Before the outbreak of the corona crisis, KLM and its partners operated 59 flights a week from Schiphol to mainland China. Shipments of this nature serve to underscore the enormous significance of connections by air in general, and those with China in particular. Medical supplies like this can only be transported swiftly and efficiently to the other side of the world by aircraft. This is especially important in times of scarcity and interdependence.

KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers said: “Help of this nature from our Chinese partners China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines is both incredibly generous and much appreciated. Help like this from our Chinese friends serves to highlight just how close the ties are between China, the Netherlands and KLM. These are incredibly difficult times for our country and our company, so we are very pleased with this support for KLM and for the Netherlands. Less than two months ago, we at KLM made a donation to China and now we have received fantastic and generous help ourselves. This certainly feels good.”

On behalf of all Dutch healthcare institutes, LNAZ is coordinating the stocks of personal protective gear for healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Thanks to KLM, this donation will help all Dutch healthcare institutes at a critical phase of caring for patients across the Netherlands. We are also incredibly grateful to KLM’s Chinese partners for this.” Said Ernst Kuipers, CEO Erasmus MC

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China Southern Airlines and British Airways launch joint venture business.

17 December 2019: British Airways has signed a joint business agreement with China Southern Airlines, for travel from 2 January 2020. Seats are available for sale on ba.com now.

The agreement will benefit customers of both airlines by opening more destinations between the UK and China, with a greater choice of flights and enhanced frequent flyer benefits. It will allow the airlines to cooperate on scheduling and pricing, providing customers with more flexible flight options and an attractive range of fares.

British Airways customers will be able to travel more easily on a combined route network which will develop over time thanks to both airlines’ move to the new Beijing Daxing International Airport. The joint business will initially see the two airlines code-sharing on all direct flights operated on mainland routes between London and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Sanya, Wuhan and Zhengzhou. This will expand to both airlines' extensive domestic networks.

China Southern Airlines takes delivery of its first Airbus A350-900

China Southern Airlines has taken delivery of its first of 20 A350-900s, becoming the newest operator of this latest generation and highly efficient twin-engine, long-range wide-body aircraft. The Guangzhou-based carrier operates an Airbus fleet of 335 aircraft, including 282 A320 Family aircraft, 48 A330 Family aircraft and five A380 aircraft (figures at the end of May 2019).

China Southern’s A350-900 aircraft features a modern and comfortable three-class cabin layout of 314 seats: 28 business, 24 premium economy and 262 economy. The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing, followed by flights to international destinations.

Hailstones damage China Southern A380 forcing a mayday call from the captain.

A China Southern Airlines Airbus A380 has been damaged by hail during a flight from Guangzhou Baiyun International to Beijing International forcing the captain to declare an emergency situation and issue a mayday call.

The double-decker's captain He Xianghang issued a mayday after the hailstones caused major damage to the jets windscreens and the nose cone - which houses the aircraft's radar. Over an hour later he bought the stricken jet into a safe landing into Beijing. 

The aircraft had been flying at around 37,000 near Henan at the time of the incident and although the aircraft flew through severe turbulence there are no reports of any injuries to those onboard the aircraft.   

Codeshare deal agreed between Finnair and China Southern

Photo Finnair

It is now official, one of Europes most respected airlines, Finnair has signed a new codeshare deal with the ever-expanding China Southern, to start on 1st June.

The deal includes the Finnair route between Guangzhou and Helsinki, and selected China Southern destinations in China. The new codeshare partnership adds five new destinations to Finnair´s network in China, and customers will be able to connect with China Southern from Guangzhou to Changsha (CSX), Chongqing (CKG), Hangzhou (HGH), Nanjing (NKG), Sanya (SYX), Wenzhou (WNZ), Xiamen (XMN) and Xi´an (XIY).

In addition, China Southern code CZ will be added to Finnair flights from Helsinki to several popular destinations in Europe: Amsterdam (AMS), Billund (BLL), Copenhagen (CPH), Goteborg (GOT), London (LHR), Paris (CDG), Riga (RIX) and Stockholm (ARN).

China Southern Airlines gets first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from Air Lease Corp

One of the world's leading aircraft leasing firms, Air Lease Corporation has delivered one new Boeing 787-9 aircraft on long-term lease to China Southern Airlines.

This new addition to the China Southern Airlines fleet is the first of five 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft scheduled to be delivered from Air Lease and the aircraft is powered by GEnx-1B76A engines. The remaining aircraft are due by the end of 2020.

The airline's 787 features a classic three-cabin layout with 228 seats spread out between 4 in first class, 24 in business class, and 200 in economy class. The seats in first and business class can all recline 180 degrees to lie flat, while all first-class seats also feature an independent laptop power source, noise-cancelling headphones, a satellite telephone, and a 17-inch LCD HDTV, allowing travellers to enjoy a world of their own that is spacious, private, and quiet. The economy class uses the same seats found in China Southern Airlines' A380 economy class, which have individual 9-inch TVs to enjoy the inflight entertainment system. 

Emirates and China Southern Airlines to form codeshare agreement

The Dubai based mega-carrier Emirates Airlines and China Southern Airlines have agreed to progress a comprehensive reciprocal codeshare agreement, which is set to open up new destinations for passengers travelling between China and the Middle East and Africa. 

Executives from Emirates and China Southern at the signing ceremony for a codeshare agreement between the two airlines. Pictured on the left are from left to right: Mr. T.G. Venugopal, Senior Manager, Codeshare Cooperation of Emirates; Mr. Wang Wenwu, SVP, Publicity of China Southern; Mr. Badr Abbas, Senior VP Commercial Operations, Far East of Emirates; Mr. Anand Lakshminarayanan, SVP Revenue Optimisation and Airline Partnerships of Emirates; Mr. HAN Wensheng, Chief Operating Officer of China Southern; Mr. WU Guoxiang, SVP, International and Corporate Relations of China Southern; Mr. Adam Li, VP of Emirates China Ms. Huang Ya, SVP, Ground Services of China Southern; and Mr. SU Ming SVP, Network Planning and Revenue Management of China Southern.

The partnership with the Guangzhou-based carrier also allows Emirates’ passengers to enjoy seamless connectivity on domestic flights within China, adding eight new destinations to its global network. The Chinese cities covered by the codeshare agreement include Fuzhou, Chongqing, Kunming, Qingdao, Xiamen, Chengdu, Nanjing and Xi 'an during the initial phase of the partnership, subject to necessary government approvals. 

Emirates’ first codeshare partnership with a Chinese carrier

Agreement with China’s largest airline covers 18 routes complementing expansive networks of both airlines

China Southern Airlines to launch first service between Los Angeles To Shenyang, China

China Southern Airlines to launch Los Angeles To Shenyang, China service.

On December 18th, 2018, China Southern Airlines will be starting a new non-stop service from Los Angeles to Shenyang, China. The service will be operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft and scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It will directly connect the US west coast and the northeast corner of China. 

Shenyang was China's first capital from 1625 until 1644, and was the home to the former Imperial Palace, A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. In 2008, during the Summer Olympic Games, Shenyang hosted soccer matches at the Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium. It is now the fourth largest city in the in China and according to Hou Ming, Head of China Southern Airlines North America, "The new Los Angeles flights will serve to strengthen and open new opportunities for economic, cultural and trade exchanges between the two countries,".

The schedule for the new service as follows, 

AerCap reports a busy September

AerCap, one of the global leaders in aircraft leasing has revealed some of its major business transactions during the third quarter of 2018.

The firm that employs 4017 people signed lease agreements for 62 aircraft, including 9 widebody aircraft and 53 narrowbody aircraft. The company has around 200 customers in nearly 80 countries also spent a fair amount of money during September as it purchased 12 aircraft, including 6 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, 2 Airbus A350s, 2 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 2 Boeing 787-9s.

It executed sale transactions for 13 aircraft, including 4 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, 2 Airbus A330s, 1 Airbus A340, 1 Boeing 737NG, 1 Boeing 757, 2 Boeing 767-300ERs, 1 Boeing 777-200ER and 1 Boeing 777-300, in total AerCap signed financing transactions for $750 million.

AerCap has its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland but also has offices in Shannon, Los Angeles, Singapore, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Seattle and Toulouse. One of its recent transactions was supplying a brand new Boeing 737 Max to China Southern, whilst in August they supplied a big brother to the carrier, its first 787-9.   

(Photo  AerCap)

AerCap's first 737 Max 8 arrives......leased to China Souther Airlines

One of the leading commercial leasing companies, AerCap Holdings proudly took delivery of its first 737 MAX 8 at the end of last week. The aircraft will be leased to China Southern Airlines and is the first of 5 aircraft to go on lease to the airline from AerCap.

AerCap and China Southern Airlines have recorded several firsts in recent years. In March 2018, AerCap made history when it delivered China Southern Airlines’ first A321neo, making the airline the first operator of the aircraft type in China. In 2016, AerCap delivered the first Pratt & Whitney powered A320neo into China, to China Southern Airlines.

Major development on the cards for China Southern Airlines

A Major development programme is on the cards for China Southern Airlines, the company's boss has revealed at the World Routes conference today.

Tan Wangeng, the chief executive officer at China Southern told the gathering in Guangzhou, that his airline is planning to boost its fleet to more than 2000 aircraft before the end of 2034. He also confirmed the major full-service carrier is looking at ways in which to work with a number of low-cost carriers in the region.

Local media is reporting that Tan said the plan was for China Southern to increase fleet numbers to 1000 by 2020 - the airlines current fleet is over 780 aircraft. The number of aircraft, both passenger and cargo will then rise to 2000 between 2020 and  2035.  According to Tan Wangeng there will be 200 million tourists from China by 2020 which would give the carrier a mass of opportunities.

Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines now form a single joint venture

Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines announced in Amsterdam recently, the merger of their existing joint venture agreements. The aim is to create even stronger links between the partners and offer customers smoother, seamless travel solutions.

By connecting the four airlines’ networks, the joint venture offers customers a wide choice of destinations connecting Europe (Paris and Amsterdam) to China (Beijing*, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Xiamen). Transfer and connection times are also optimized.

China Southern Airlines launch flights to London

China Southern Airlines has launched the first intercontinental route between Sanya and London this week, with an inaugural flight carring 214 passengers from Sanya's Phoenix International Airport, on the 12th July.

The schedule for the new service will see the China Southern Airlines' flight CZ651 depart Sanya at 13:00 CST every Thursday and Sunday, to arrives in London at 18:45 local time. The return journey, flight number CZ652 departs London at 22:10 local time, arriving back home in Sanya at 16:20 local time. Normally scheduled flight time is around 12 hours and 45 minutes.

Andrew Ould from The British Consulate said, "Hainan is facilitating the construction of China's free-trade zone. I believe that the launch of the direct flight between Sanya and London will help attract more visitors from the UK to spend their holidays in Sanya and UK-based companies to invest and establish facilities in the city." 

Sanya has experienced an impressive growth in tourism over recent times, welcoming approximately 450,000 visitors during 2016, rising to 700,000 last year. Sanya has launched 34 international routes serving 25 destinations such as the UK, Russia, South Korea, and Japan to further develop global connections to the free-trade zone.