Xiamen Airlines (MF, Xiamen) is to make its Oceania debut in October this year with flights to Australia set to begin in October the carrier has announced via a press release. Among the cities being considered include Sydney Kingsford Smith and Melbourne Tullamarine.
At present, the carrier is on track to make Amsterdam Schiphol its first ever intercontinental route with a 3x-weekly service set to commence on July 26. With six B787-8s on order from Boeing (BOE, Washington National), of which three have now been delivered, Xiamen Airlines says it is also planning to make its first foray into the North American market later next year with Seattle Tacoma International, San Francisco, Los Angeles International, and Vancouver International all possibilities.
However, in order to serve the United States directly - the West Coast and Mid-West in particular - China's CARNOC quotes Xiamen's manager of flight planning, Ding Chunling, as saying Xiamen is studying the possibility of reducing the overall number of seats on-board its B787-8s (237 in total: 215(Y), 18(C), and 4(F)) in order to increase its range. While the B777 would offer the range required, its operating costs would likely prove excessive for Xiamen's needs.
As such, the airline is reportedly considering B787-9s for their extended range and capacity over their -8 sisters with reports the airline now intends to operate a fleet of ten Dreamliners come 2020.
