China Southern Airlines to get A330-200

[planecrazy]

The airline are buying 4 of the type to be deployed on international routes, it will be third Airbus type in CZ fleet as they also operate their own A320's as well as A300-600 gained from the merger of China Northern Airlines into them.

[CathayPacific]

If this order is true, then CZ is looks more like an airliner collector than an airline.

Airliners in service/on order by CZ or CZ's fully owned subsidiaries:
737-200
737-300
737-500
737-700
747-400F
757-200
767-300ER
777-200
777-200ER
A300-600R (from CJ)
A320-200
A321-200 (from CJ)
MD 80 (from CJ)
MD 90 (from CJ)
ATR 72 (from XO)
IL 86 (from XO)
ERJ 145 (on order)
SAAB 340
And now A330-200??

It will have 14 major aircraft types (counting different serious of one aircraft type as one type) in service! It surely knows how to make profit.

[jiml1126]

Of course. Plane collections.

It's rival Air China has simple fleet (just too many series):

B737-300
B737-600 (?)
B737-700
B737-800
B747-200F
B747-400
B747-400F (soon)
B757
B767-200
B767-300
B777-200
A319
A320
A340

[planecrazy]

I heard CZ do not gain the IL-86 from XO as they have been sold off, their 767-300 fleet has also been phased out, the A321 is news to me, perhaps after the merger is complete the airline will decide which aircraft to retain and which to phase out. As for CA, they have also gained the 737-500 from the merger of another airline, they do not have any 737-600.

[planecrazy]

CZ are getting another Airbus type the A319(2) and Boeing 737-800(4), the latter wil replace the 737-500 fleet.

[MauwieAir]

don't you think they first wil replace the 737-200?

[uy707]

XO 3 IL86s were already stored at Urumqui early in 2003
The 767-300s were already history when I came back to Beijing in February 2001.
The A.330-200 has been picked up to bridge the capacity gap between the 757-200 and the 777-200. Unlike the previously operated 767-300, the 330.200 can take up a sizeable cargo load, coupled with the advantage of loading 2 LD3s face to face, which can prove lucrative when passenger load factors are low.
Regards
Alain