Chinese airlines, China’s market, and Boeing 787 cancellations

by M. Ulric Killion

The following photo, which was taken on October 17, 2011, shows the cabin of a China Southern Airbus 319/320 aircraft at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, People’s Republic of China (PRC); Photo by M. Ulric Killion.

According to Wang Wen (China Eastern cancels order for Boeing 787s|Companies|chinadaily.com.cn, October 19, 2011), Chinese airlines are electing to focus on the acquisition of smaller commercial aircraft rather the Boeing 787s to serve China’s market. 

According to Wang, “China Eastern Airlines Corp, the country's second-largest carrier by aircraft numbers, announced on Monday night it was canceling its order for 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in favor of 45 smaller 737s, which will be delivered between 2014 and 2016.” 

Boeing Co delivered its first 787 Dreamliners on Sept 25, three years after the original delivery date. China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, Air China Ltd and Hainan Airlines Co Ltd have confirmed orders for 35 Dreamliners. SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg.

Further Wang wrote:

“China Eastern will also return five A340-300s to Airbus SAS in exchange for 15 smaller wide-body A330s, which could be operated on domestic routes, Bloomberg reported. The total value of the A330s is $2.53 billion, the carrier said.

China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, Air China Ltd and Hainan Airlines Co Ltd also have confirmed orders for 35 Dreamliners. China Southern may scrap its 10 orders for the 787 after delivery of the first plane was pushed back to July 2012.”

However, Wang failed to mention that prior to Chinese airlines electing to acquire the smaller Boeing 737s  (i.e., Boeing 737-700/800 aircraft ) rather the “Boeing 787 – Dreamliners”, many Chinese airlines were arguably earlier pursuing this market strategy. 

For instance, airlines such as China Southern are presently using a smaller variety of Airbus aircraft. An example of the smaller variety of commercial aircraft that some Chinese airlines are currently using is the Airbus 319/320.

Copyright © Protected – All Rights Reserved M. Ulric Killion, 2011.