With the approaching weeklong National Day holiday, the booking volume of domestic flights is expected to grow further as the air travel market continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August, China's civil aviation industry handled approximately 32.3 million passenger trips, up 44.2 percent over July. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, key indicators such as capacity input for passenger flights, passenger turnover and passenger load factors have improved significantly year-on-year.
According to a research report by Orient Securities, the pent-up travel demand is expected to be released slowly and the prices of some core flight routes will increase significantly, which will help improve the business performance of carriers.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the book-booking volume of travel products for the National Day holiday break, which begins on October 1, has continued to increase.
There will be a lot of domestic flights that depart on September 30 that will offer full-price economy class tickets with no discounts. Online travel agency Qunar found flights from Beijing to Dunhuang, Gansu province, and from Shanghai to Lijiang, Yunnan province.
According to an announcement by State-owned China Southern Airlines, parent of Xiamen Airlines, the new jets are expected to be delivered between 2024 and 2027.
The new deal, worth about $4.8 billion in total based on catalog price, came after 100 new aircraft orders for the A 320 neo were placed by four Chinese airlines in July.
The fleet of Xiamen Airlines is mostly comprised of the B 737 and B 787 series made by US aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. Late last year, Xiamen Airlines leased 15 Airbus A 321 neo aircraft.
Xiamen Airlines will complete the advance payment in installments and the balance on the delivery date of each aircraft in US dollars. The deal does not constitute a major asset restructuring or a connected transaction, the statement said.
The carrier plans to provide the funds through business operations, bank loans and other financing methods. The statement said that it is not expected to have a significant impact on the company's cash flow and business operations.