Hainan Airlines elevates brand image with first Airbus A330neo

The first Airbus A330neo ever to be operated in mainland China has been delighting passengers since Hainan Airlines pressed the new twinjet into service in mid-November on flights linking Beijing with Hangzhou and Haikou. According to management, the 301-seat, two-class A330-900neo will ultimately be deployed on 15 key long-haul routes to Europe, Oceania and the Middle East.

Fitted with Airbus’ spectacular Airspace cabin as well as multiple Safran products — 24 Safran ‘Skylounge Core’ business class seats, Safran galleys, and the French aerospace manufacturer’s RAVE Ultra inflight entertainment system from nose to tail — the A330-900neo, bearing registration B-32MU, was delivered to Hainan on 31 October in Toulouse before transferring to the carrier’s Haikou base where it was greeted with a water salute.

Safran’s content features prominently on Hainan’s first A330neo, including business class seating, IFE and galleys. Image: Safran

“This is the first A330neo for a Chinese carrier, and we thank the excellent Hainan Airlines team for their trust, and partnership,” Airbus senior vice president of marketing Joost van der Heijden said on LinkedIn at the time. “With its unrivalled versatility, the A330neo is very suited for the Chinese market, with its high density domestic and regional routes, and expanding network of long-haul destinations.”

Indeed, China and the broader Asia-Pacific region have long been booming markets for the A330ceo (current engine option), and Hainan operates both the -200 and -300 models in different configurations on long-haul and domestic trunk routes.

Airbus Airspace cabin on an A330neo; this image shows the large overhead bins and purple mood lighing

Large overhead bins, a broad spectrum of lighting choices and various customization options are part of Airspace on the new A330neo. Image: Mary Kirby

Though this is Hainan’s first A330neo (new engine option), it is not expected to be its last. Hainan president Yu Chaojie tells Chinese media that induction of the first -900neo is part of the carrier’s “strategic objective to elevate our service quality and brand image on international long-haul routes.”

According to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, and as reported by Flightglobal, Hainan has another three A330-900s on order. It is understood that the airline intends to take delivery of a total 20 A330-900neos (large work packages for the type have been assigned to Safran, as first revealed by Ch-Aviation). However, a formal announcement has not yet been made.

Images shared by Safran of the A330-900neo show that Hainan’s beautiful ‘Dream Feather’ interior features on the aircraft. Dream Feather was designed by PriestmanGoode and is already flying on the carrier’s new Boeing 787-9s with Safran’s Cirrus 3 herringbone in business class. Older 787s feature a 2-2-2-configured business class cabin, with seats that are wide and bright red in a forward-facing pattern.

Hainan Airlines' A330neo business class cabin with Safran Skylounge Core seats

Dream Feather CMF (color, materials and finish) on the Skylounge Core business class seat aboard Hainan’s new A330neo. Image: Safran

Hainan is Safran’s first Chinese customer for the award-winning Skylounge Core, a low-parts, all-aisle-access, lie-flat business class product that is optimized for both the A330 and 787 catalogues. The airline also represents Safran’s second Skylounge customer in Asia and third overall, according to Safran marketing and CRM manager Stephane Ballanger.

In a statement shared on LinkedIn, Safran says: “Thank you to Hainan Airlines for your continued trust and partnership. We look forward to supporting the success of your fleet and passengers across China and beyond!”

Related Articles:

All images credited to Safran