Shenzhen Airlines for the first time has acquired a different type of aircraft from the Boeing 737.

It received the first delivery of Airbus A319 on Tuesday after it signed a contract in April with the French company to buy five airplanes.

The airplane will be used to fly between Shenzhen and such cities as Shanghai, Chengdu and Guilin.

In the 13 years since its founding, the company has employed only Boeing 737s for its operations, which is said to have helped it reduce maintenance costs for its fleet.

According to Dong Lijia, general manager of Shenzhen Airlines, the introduction of Airbus planes meets the company’s development needs. He said that in the future the company would use the Airbus A319 to open plateau flights.

Local industry watchers have suggested that to boost its competitiveness, Shenzhen Airlines plans to sell a large stake of the company to attract big investors. It has also been reported that the company might be listed on the domestic stock market in the near future.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2005)