China’s Spring Airlines to expand fleet by 2018

Spring Airlines plans to expand its fleet to 100 aircraft by 2018 to meet growing market demand, according to chairman Wang Zhenghua. The LCC operates 61 Airbus A320 family aircraft and is scheduled to take delivery of more than 10 aircraft in 2017 and 2018. The company plans to boost flight frequencies on routes to Thailand and open a new route to Kuala Lumpur. Spring is also applying for an international route to Indonesia from Shenzhen. On the domestic side, Spring is expected to allocate more aircraft to its Shenyang and Shijiazhuang bases this year. The company also plans to establish Chengdu, Kunming and Chongqing as domestic bases. In addition, Spring will reconfigure cabins on more than 20 Airbus A320 aircraft by adding six more economy seats, which would increase the number of economy seats to 186 from 180. The cabin reconfiguration project is scheduled to be completed in 2019. Beyond 2018, Spring is scheduled to take delivery of 60 A320neo family aircraft, comprising 45 A320neos and 15 A321neos between 2019 and 2023. However, Wang ruled out the possibility of opening future long-haul intercontinental routes.<br/>