Air Transport

China Southern Airlines plans to delay the delivery of its Airbus A380s, Boeing 777 freighters and Boeing 787s.

A report in China's state-run newspaper China Daily quotes the airline's chairman Si Xianmin as saying China Southern has initiated talks with Boeing to delay delivery of its 777 freighters on order, some of which are due to be delivered this year.

China Southern also plans to delay the delivery of its 787s and A380s, says Si, citing unfavourable market conditions.

Yesterday China Southern reported a net loss of 4.82 billion yuan ($703 million) for the 2008 calendar year compared to a 1.83 billion yuan profit in 2007.

It has been trying to reduce its debt by selling older aircraft and is also seeking financial assistance from the Chinese authorities.

China Southern has six 777 freighters on order and in October 2006 it announced that the aircraft would be delivered from November 2008 to July 2010. It also has five A380s on order and in 2005 it announced it had 10 787s on order. Prior to the manufacturing production delays at Airbus and Boeing, the first A380s and 787s were due to be delivered in 2008 in time for the Beijing Olympics.