Lucky Air saw strong growth in its international business last year, and expects to keep the momentum going in 2017 as it prepares to launch its first intercontinental service.
In a statement, the carrier says passengers on its international services almost tripled in 2016, largely due to increases from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia services. It did not specify the numbers, but revealed that these account for only 6% of its total passengers.
Last year, the Kunming-based airline carried 8.1 million passengers on domestic services, a 20.9% jump from a year before.
This year, the low-cost airline will focus on expanding in Southeast Asia and South Asia, as well as continue expansion at home.
Lucky Air will also take delivery of its first Airbus A330-300 in March, and deploy the aircraft on direct services between Kunming and Moscow in the middle of the year.
An airline executive tells FlightGlobal that the first A330 will be taken from parent Hainan Airlines, but that thereafter it will induct more widebodies on its own. The configuration of these aircraft have yet to be decided.
FlightGlobal schedules data shows that the carrier’s network largely focuses on Chinese domestic services, and that it also has connections to regional points in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that the carrier operates 28 Boeing 737s, eight A320s and three A319s.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
