China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou) has announced it has signed a firm order agreement with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) for twenty A350-900s.

A disclosure to the Shanghai Stock Exchange made on Wednesday, April 26, said that of the twenty widebody jets, six would be delivered in 2019, six in 2020, four in 2021, and four in 2022.

China Southern will fund the purchase, which is subject to Beijing's final approval, through a combination of internal company resources and commercial bank loans.

The carrier's Airbus widebody portfolio currently consists of sixteen A330-200s, twenty-three A330-300s, and five A380-800s.