CHINA SOUTHERN Airlines is negotiating to lease three more Boeing 777-200IGWs (increased gross weight) from International Lease Finance to support its planned start-up passenger service to the USA.
The Chinese carrier is understood to be discussing taking the three leased aircraft in 1997. The airline needs more long-range 777s to operate a non-stop service from its home base of Guangzhou, in southern China, to San Francisco.
It is unclear whether the ongoing strain in Sino-American relations will affect the China Southern 777 deal. All aircraft transactions, including lease transactions, need approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
China has already ordered six General Electric GE90-powered Boeing 777-200s, including two IGW aircraft, as part of an earlier deal. The first two 777s have been delivered and are now in service on routes within China, with two more scheduled for delivery this year and the final -200IGW versions in 1997. According to local sources, China Southern plans to start flying to San Francisco by August, using the shorter-range 777s now in service. The aircraft will make a technical stop in Fairbanks, Alaska.
China Southern has been given permission to fly to US West Coast in 1995, with the signing of a new bilateral-air-services agreement between China and the USA.
The agreement allows the CAAC to designate a third passenger carrier for services to the USA, in addition to incumbent carriers Air China and China Eastern Airlines. Despite the China Southern extension, Northwest Airlines, in the meantime, has ditched earlier plans to switch its Los Angeles-Shanghai service to Guangzhou.
China Southern has confirmed a $140 million order for International Aero Engines V2500s for its fleet of ten new Airbus Industrie A320s. The airline has selected the V2527-A5 version of the engine, rated at 118kN (26,500lb)-thrust. The first two are scheduled for delivery in June 1997.
Source: Flight International
