This Airline May Overtake American Airlines for the World's Largest Fleet
One of the world's largest airlines has plans to grow signifigantly larger. China Southern wants to quadruple its fleet size and take on more partnerships to become a superpower in the world of aviation.
China Southern CEO Tan Wangeng said that he wants to grow the airline's fleet to 2,000 aircraft by 2035. The SkyTeam carrier currently has about 786 passenger and cargo aircraft.
"We plan to have 1,000 aircraft by 2020 and by 2035 it will increase to 2,000," Tan told the World Routes conference.
For context, American Airlines is currently the largest airline by fleet size, revenue and destinations served — with a total of about 948 aircraft it currently operates. Bloomberg says that number will fall to about 935 after new aircraft are delivered and others are retired. This means China Southern may have the world's largest fleet of passenger aircraft in 2020.
Is it even possible to grow that large, and that quickly? In March, Flight Global reported that the airline is supposed to receive 309 aircraft through 2020 and that in 2018 alone its expected to take delivery of 115 jets including "61 Boeing 737-800s, 39 Airbus A320 family jets, 10 787-9s and five A330-300s."
Other Chinese carriers like China Eastern and Xiamen all have aggressive growth plans due to the explosion in demand for air travel by Chinese citizens.
"By 2020 there will be 200 million outbound tourists from China. This provides us with a lot of opportunities for development," Tan said.
However, the airline is eyeing to work with budget airlines who are becoming bigger and bigger players in China and Southeast Asia.
"All major airlines need partners and we are looking into the possibility of establishing more joint ventures. We haven't tried with low-cost carriers yet, but we are considering how to cooperate with them," Tan said.
Last week Boeing said it predicts China Southern will purchase 7,690 new jets over the next two decades. China is getting into the aircraft manufacturing industry itself — state-owned firm Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China delivered its first smaller regional jet in 2015 and will deliver its first mid-sized aircraft (C919) by 2021. The C919 is comparable in size to a Boeing 737 and it may be an aircraft that China Southern purchases one-day.
TPG flew in China Southern First Class aboard the carrier's 777 and praised it for good award availability — although there were many areas where the carrier could improve.
H/T: Reuters
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month