China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou) has joined the ranks of airlines retiring their A380-800 fleets after it operated the type's last revenue flight on November 7, 2022.
B-6139 (msn 88) was the last of five quadjets to end their service with the airline. Its last flight, CZ328 from Los Angeles International, arrived at Guangzhou on the morning of November 7. B-6140 (msn 120) was retired on November 5, while the other three units exited the fleet starting in October 2021. The routes to Los Angeles and Amsterdam Schiphol, the two last services where the A380s operated, will now be flown by B787-9s and A350-900s, respectively.
China Southern Airlines continued to operate sporadic A380 flights throughout the pandemic and never grounded the type fully, as opposed to the majority of its operators globally. However, it said in early 2022 that the quadjets would be withdrawn by the end of 2022, being replaced with more efficient twinjet widebodies.
The first two A380s retired by China Southern Airlines in 2021 have already been ferried for storage to Mojave. The three units, which continued to operate through October/November 2022, remain parked at Guangzhou airport.
China Southern took delivery of its five A380s between October 2011 and February 2013. It was the type's only Chinese operator, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows.
