And They Have A LOT More Coming

Last Friday, Shenzhen Airlines took delivery of its first two Airbus A319s, joining six other mainline Chinese airlines operating the type known locally as "the Mountain Goat" in China. The first two A319s in Shenzhen Airlines colors departed Hamburg, Germany on February 16 and landed successfully at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport at 2 pm February 17.

Powered by CFM International’s CFM 56-5B engines, the aircraft will be configured in a two-class layout, which will provide spacious space for 128 passengers. They will be put into service on the routes linking Shenzhen and other major cities in China, including some new and high-altitude routes.

"Airbus' A320 Family features the newest and most modern design of any single-aisle airliner", said Shenzhen Airlines Chairman Zhao Xiang, "we received our first Airbus aircraft, an Airbus A320, in May 2005 and today we are delighted to become a new operator of the Airbus A319 in China."

"Selection of the new A319 is part of our strategy for the further expansion of our fleet and the extension of our air networks," Zhao added. "The new A319 aircraft will also help us open new and high-altitude routes in the future."

Founded in 1992, Shenzhen Airlines operates out of the Bao'an International Airport in the city of Shenzhen, with air links to more than 90 domestic and international destinations.

Currently, six Chinese mainland airlines operate nearly 70 A319s, accounting for more than one fourth of all 247 in-service Airbus aircraft on the Chinese Mainland.

Shenzhen is also one of the airlines slated to receive a combined total of 150 Airbus A320-family aircraft over the next several years, as part of a massive order by the Chinese government announced last December. (That's assuming, of course, the required deposits have been placed on the aircraft.)

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.shenzhenair.com (in Chinese)