China Post teams up with Xiamen Airlines to buy 9 aircraft

US DOT mulls banning Chinese airlines overflying Russia

The US Department of Transportation has drafted a policy proposal that would ban Chinese airlines overflying Russian airspace from operating to and from the United States, sources briefed on the proposal have told The New York Times.

The draft was reportedly presented to the national security team, but it has yet to be published or officially acknowledged. The Biden Administration is currently reportedly evaluating the potential diplomatic fallout from imposing such a ban, which would likely significantly antagonise China.

The news follows a lobbying offensive by Airlines for America, an industry group for US carriers. The airlines and policymakers have been lobbying in Washington for weeks to restrict foreign airlines from using Russian airspace on their flights to the US. They argue that the ability to use Russian airspace gives foreign carriers an unfair advantage and also poses a safety risk to US passengers on board in case of a potential diversion.

Airlines from the United States, the European Union, and several allied countries were banned from Russian airspace in March 2022. The ban was a response...

China Postal Airlines takes first B777-200F

China Postal Airlines (CF, Nanjing) took delivery of its first B777-200F directly from Boeing on March 8, 2023.

B-221X (msn 67763) was ferried directly from Everett to Beijing Capital, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. It is the first of two units of the type that the cargo specialist is planning to add, with the second due in mid-April 2023. The B777 is its first widebody aircraft, and the first production freighter delivered direct from the manufacturer.

China Postal Airlines plans to use the B777 mainly for its future services to the United States. Pending certification, it plans to launch services from Nanjing to Chicago O'Hare in August 2023 and to Los Angeles International in March 2024, both via Anchorage Ted Stevens.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that the airline's narrowbody fleet comprises seven B737-300(F)s, eight B737-400(F)s, seven B737-800(BCF)s, and seven B757-200(PCF)s. Last month, the carrier teamed up with Xiamen Airlines to add a further nine freighter aircraft, although...

China's Xiamen Airlines eyes 15 A321neo by the end of 2023

China's Lucky Air set to resume B737 MAX flight operations

Lucky Air (China) (8L, Dali City) is preparing its three B737-8s to re-enter regular service having relocated them to Haikou Airport and putting them through a series of test flights after grounding them almost four years ago. An imminent re-entry into service would make Lucky Air the fourth China-based airline to resume MAX revenue operations.

Unluckily for Lucky Air, their three B737-8s arrived at the airline in 4Q 2018, just ahead of the global MAX grounding in early 2019. B-1143 (msn 61852) and B-206N (msn 43560) both went into long-term storage at Lijiang Airport, while B-207P (msn 43617) went to Chengdu Shuangliu Airport. The two aircraft stored at Lijiang quietly ferried to Haikou earlier this year, while B-207P ferried across from Chengdu on February 16. ADS-B data from Flightradar24 shows B-1143 to be the most active aircraft, having operated five (albeit short) flights this month.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) says that Lucky Air formally applied to resume B737 MAX operations at a meeting in Yunnan on February 2....