Air China said recently that it would “absolutely” support a domestic challenger to Boeing and Airbus, Bloomberg reported, even as the company plans to reduce variety in its fleet and phase out certain models. The state-controlled Air China is the largest Chinese international carrier by market value and operates 200 Boeing and Airbus planes as part of its fleet. One potential beneficiary will be Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), a domestic manufacturer of … [Read more...] about CHINA: Air China will support domestic plane maker

Air China has agreed to buy 20 Airbus 320 series aircraft for delivery between 2011 and 2014. The Chinese carrier said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it would receive significant concessions on aircraft, which have a list price of US$1.63 million each. The additional aircraft will boost Air China’s capacity by 5 per cent compared with December 2009 levels. The company intends to use the new aircraft in support of its expansion plans in southwest China and planned … [Read more...] about CHINA: Air China signs deal to buy 20 A320 aircraft

China’s imports and exports rose by 85.5 per cent and 21 per cent respectively in January over last year, although economists warned against reading too much into the figures, citing the low base comparison in January 2009 and the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday. The holiday fell in February of 2010, which effectively means there was one more working week in January of this year compared to last year, Reuters reported. China’s trade surplus narrowed to US$14.17 … [Read more...] about CHINA: China’s January exports down 16%

Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. announced that it saw growth in both its passenger and cargo business in January 2010. The carrier handled 91,000 tonnes of cargo and mail, jumping 58.6 per cent while its freight load factor was up 5.7 percentage points to 66.8 per cent. … [Read more...] about CHINA: China Southern sees continuing growth in Jan

Hainan Airlines will operate a daily direct service from Belgium to China beginning 28 May. The airline already flies four times a week from Brussels to Beijing and in May it will start operating direct flights three times a week between Brussels Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport. All flights will be operated with Airbus 330 aircraft. … [Read more...] about CHINA: Hainan boosts China-Belgium services

Airbus delivered to Sichuan Airlines the very first widebody aircraft, an A330-200, to add capacity to its existing all-Airbus single aisle fleet. The A330 is the first of three brand new Airbus A330- 200s that Sichuan Airlines has leased from the Netherland’s-based AerCap Aviation Solutions. While expanding its regional and international network, Sichuan Airlines intends to compete on high density routes with a fleet of A330s to be deployed on domestic trunk routes from the … [Read more...] about CHINA: Sichuan Airlines takes deliver of first A330