China Southern Airlines ends E190 operations

Chinese carriers order 292 A320neo Family jets

China's four largest carriers by fleet size have placed orders with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) for a total of 292 A320 Family aircraft, separate stock market filings dated July 1 have revealed.

Air China (CA, Beijing Capital) said it had agreed an order with the Europeans covering sixty-four A320neo Family jets while its Shenzhen Airlines (ZH, Shenzhen) subsidiary will acquire thirty-two. Deliveries to Air China will run from 2023 to 2027 while those for Shenzhen Airlines will arrive from 2024 to 2025. However, the introduction of new aircraft will be concentrated on beyond 2024.

Airbus gave both airlines a "relatively large" discount in the form of a credit memo that can be used to pay for Airbus aircraft, the final payment, or the purchase of Airbus products and services. Air China and Shenzhen Airlines will fund the acquisition via their own funds, commercial bank loans, and other financing methods respectively.

Air China and Shenzhen Airlines will use the incoming aircraft to both renew and grow their existing narrowbody fleets with the...

Malta's galistair adds first A330-300(P2F)

China Southern inks B737 sales/lease-back agreement

China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou) has entered into a sale-and-leaseback transaction with CALC covering half of its current fleet of twenty owned B737-700s.

All ten aircraft will be delivered to CALC's mainland China affiliate China Aviation Aftermarket (CAAM) by the end of June 2022. ch-aviation research reveals that the aircraft are the following units:

• B-5250 (msn 35378),
• B-5252 (msn 35382),
• B-5236 (msn 35362),
• B-5240 (msn 35368),
• B-5283 (msn 38919),
• B-5069 (msn 32934),
• B-2917 (msn 32940),
• B-5233 (msn 35361), which is operated by China Southern's subsidiary Henan Airlines,
• B-5251 (msn 35384), and
• B-5291 (msn 38962).

CALC said it was selected as the buyer through an open tender process.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that China Southern Airlines operates twenty B737-700s, 14.6 years old on average. The airline also owns six aircraft of the type operated on its behalf by Henan Airlines.

CALC currently owns five A320-200s, five A321-200s, and five A330-200s leased to China Southern Airlines.

Editorial Comment: The article updates with details of the aircraft involved. - 23.05.2022 - 10:26 UTC

US, EU, Chinese regulators stall Korean Air-Asiana merger

Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) is experiencing turbulence in obtaining approval from competition authorities in the United States, Europe, and China for its planned KRW1.8 trillion won (USD1.5 billion) acquisition of a 63.88% stake in rival Asiana Airlines (OZ, Seoul Incheon), the JoongAng Daily and Business Korea reported.

A South Korean government official told local media that “the US Justice Department strongly believes that a marriage between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines will impose restrictions on fair competition, so the merger will face difficulties in obtaining approval.”

The issue was reportedly discussed during a business trip to the United States by Cho Sung-wook, chair of South Korea’s antitrust agency the Korea Fair Trade Commission, in early April. The Justice Department reportedly told the Korean flag carrier to present detailed measures addressing certain competition issues, but Korean Air submitted its plans with a significant delay.

A spokesperson for Korean Air Lines cautioned: “This happens often and doesn’t mean the merger could be cancelled,” adding that the airline is “communicating with US regulators to...