Hainan Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, becoming the type’s newest operator in China.
The aircraft, registered B-32LY, arrived at Hainan’s Haikou Meilan international airport hub on 19 June from Airbus’ Hamburg facility.
The CFM International Leap-1A-powered jet is configured to seat 204 passengers in a two-class setting: eight seats in business class and 196 in economy class. Hainan has also opted for Airbus’ Airspace interiors for the new aircraft.
According to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, the aircraft is the first of two A321neos Hainan will add to its fleet.
Hainan currently operates 27 A330s – comprising a mix of -200s and -300s – and eight A320neos.
The carriers expects to deploy the A321neo soon to meet the summer travel season. While it did not specify which routes, Hainan says it will operate over 500 domestic routes. as well as 67 international routes during the summer travel period.
