Shandong Airlines (SC, Jinan) has placed a firm order with Boeing (BOE, Washington National) for fifty B737s due for delivery between 2016 and 2020. In a statement, the Chinese carrier said the USD4.6billion order, consisting of sixteen Next-Generation B737s and thirty-four B737 MAXs, is subject to approval from the Chinese state.
Speaking at the event, Chairman Ma Chongxian said the airline aims to almost double its fleet from the current 73, to almost 140 by the end of 2020.
Currently, Shandong operates mainly domestic trunk routes from Jinan, Qingdao Jiaodong and Yantai Penglai International to major cities in China as well as regionally to Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea. Its fleet consists of three B737-700s, sixty-two B737-800s, a B737-300, five CRJ200s and two CRJ700s (the latter two destined for start-up, Qingdao Airlines (QW, Qingdao Jiaodong)).
