China's First A330neo Handed Over To Hainan Airlines

SINGAPORE—Airbus has delivered China’s first A330neo to Hainan Airlines, marking the debut of the A330-900 in the country’s fleet.

Registered B-32MU, the aircraft is configured with 24 business-class and 277 economy-class seats.

According to Aviation Week’s Fleet Discovery database, Hainan Airlines currently operates 25 A330-200/300s built between 2007 and 2018. Hainan has 17 additional A330neos on order, along with 53 Boeing 737 MAX-family aircraft.

The airline originally placed an order for 40 A330neos in 2019 but reduced the backlog by half in 2022 during its restructuring under new ownership.

The delivery comes as Hainan Airlines reports a profitable third quarter for 2025 amid strong passenger and international traffic growth.

For the first nine months of the year, Hainan’s international revenue passenger kilometers rose 47.8% year-on-year, while its available seat kilometers increased 45.4% year-on-year. The carrier plans to lift international capacity to 130% of 2019 levels by the end of 2025 as it rebuilds from a low base.

Hainan Airlines posted revenue of CNY53.4 billion ($7.5 billion) and a net profit of CNY2.8 billion, up 30.9% year-on-year.