China Southern adds first A319neo

China Southern Airlines, as the type’s launch operator, took delivery of its first A319-100Ns on February 19 with B-328A (msn 10239) and B-328C (msn 10288) arriving at Guangzhou from Hamburg Finkenwerder via Nur-Sultan Nazarbayev.

A press release said the two aircraft are powered by CFM International LEAP-1As and feature 136 seats in total – four in business class, 24 in pearl economy class, and 108 in economy. They will both undergo further preparation ahead of their service entry in July this year. Given their operational performance, the A319neo will be deployed on flights to hot-and-high airports i.e. those above 2,438 metres ASL.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, China Southern currently operates nine A319-100s, a far cry from the 40+ it used to operate between 2009 and 2014, since which the number has gradually diminished. It also operates 107 in-house A320-200s, thirty-nine A321-200s, twenty-eight A321-200Ns, and twenty-three A321-200NXs. Boeing-wise, it employs twenty Boeing 737-700s, eighty-eight 737-800s, and twenty-four 737-8 Max currently grounded, delivered in 2017 and order for 30 is still pending Chinese government and shareholder approval.