China Southern expands fleet to boost cargo operations

China Southern Airlines employees prepare to load cargo onto an aircraft at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangdong province in early May. China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by passenger volume, added two Boeing 777 cargo aircraft to its fleet and pledged to enhance its cargo capacity via retrofitted passenger aircraft to bolster the country's insufficient airfreight capacity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This will enhance China's air cargo capacity in the global market and better respond to the government's call to help fix and prevent disruptions to the world's supply chains caused by the pandemic, as well as support the growth of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, said Wu Mingfeng, deputy director of network planning at China Southern's freight division. Backed by 860 passenger and cargo aircraft, sales revenue of China Southern reached 154.32 billion yuan in 2019, up 7.45 percent year-on-year, while China Eastern recorded revenue of 120.86 billion yuan, up 5.16 percent year-on-year and Air China's top line hit 136.18 billion yuan, dropping by 0.43 percent year-on-year, said the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.