Flight International online news 11:00GMT: Hainan Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A319 aircraft today (23 September) in Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft will arrive at Xi’an International Airport in the Shanxi Province on 24 September, where a formal handover ceremony will take place.
The A319 is powered by CFM International CFM56-5b engines and is configured in a single economy-class layout, which will provide space for 134 passengers.
The aircraft will be operated by Chang’an Airlines, a local branch of Hainan Airlines in Xi’an, and will serve domestic trunk routes and some high-altitude routes like Tibet, Huanglong and Gongga.
Airbus says the A319, which is known to the Chinese as “the Mountain Goat”, first made a successful demonstration flight over Tibet International Airport in 2001.
Currently, there are 50 A319s in service for various Chinese carriers.
ROSS BENTLEY/LONDON
Source: Flight International
