Juneyao Airlines confirms that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing for 10 787-9s, as part of its plans to go long-haul.
An airline executive tells FlightGlobal that the MoU with Boeing was inked in September, but that discussions with Airbus on the A350 are continuing. The airline is expected to make a decision and firm the order in the middle of 2017, with the aircraft to be delivered starting from 2018, he adds.
The airline is now studying where it can deploy its first widebody jets. Ideally, Juneyao would like to put its first widebodies on services to North America from Shanghai. This is however largely constrained by traffic rights, and the airline may hence have to first operate services to Australasia and Europe instead, says the executive.
Juneyao’s main base lies in Shanghai, where China Eastern Airlines is also based. The carrier currently operates 56 A320 family jets, largely on domestic services. Its only international routes are to points in Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
