Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) is preparing to acquire up to twenty A330-900Ns. While there is no official announcement about any aircraft order, a March 29, 2024, Hainan Airlines Holding stock market filing details a multi-million dollar spend at Safran Cabins Germany GmbH to assemble galley kitchen equipment for the aircraft type.
"The company plans to purchase 20 sets of aircraft cabin kitchen equipment from Safran to assemble the company's A330-900 aircraft," the filing reads. "The transaction amount shall not exceed USD23.592 million."
Hainan Airlines is an existing operator of the A330 family type, albeit the A330-200 and A330-300, with nine and 20 of each type, respectively. When confirmed, the order will be the first of significance since the Liaoning Fangda Group Industrial Group acquired Hainan Airlines in late 2021 after the former owner, HNA Group, filed for bankruptcy.
In addition to the A330s, Hainan Airlines operates a single A350-900, fourteen B737-8s, 135 B737-800s, ten B787-8s, and twenty-eight B787-9s. According to the ch-aviation PRO airlines module, the carrier flies to 119 airports in 26 countries.
In a recent profit forecast, Hainan Airlines Holdings said the civil aviation market, including the Chinese domestic market, is recovering strongly. While not explicitly addressing prospective orders, the filing said the airline would actively work to seize market opportunities and expand capacity.
