China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) took delivery of its first A321-200NX on October 29, 2024, at Hamburg Finkenwerder. The aircraft, registered as B-32HX (msn 12093), was subsequently ferried from the Airbus facility in Germany to Shanghai Pudong via Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev.
B-32HX is the first of sixty-eight A321-200NX aircraft that China Eastern has ordered from Airbus to replace its current fleet of seventy-six A321-200s. Powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines, this aircraft features a two-class cabin layout, with 12 business class seats and 186 in economy. Although it has been delivered, the aircraft has yet to commence commercial operations. Additionally, a second A321-200NX, B-32HY (msn 12180), was delivered on October 30, 2024, following the same route.
This delivery is part of a larger order placed in 2022, which involved four different Chinese carriers ordering a total of 292 aircraft from the A320 Family. Specifically, China Eastern ordered 100 A320neo Family jets, with deliveries expected between 2024 and 2027. Along with the sixty-eight A321-200NX, the order includes thirty-two A320-200Ns, of which three have already been delivered.
While China Eastern has not yet disclosed specific schedules for its new aircraft, stock market filings at the time of the order indicated plans to primarily deploy the A320neo Family on high-yield domestic routes, with potential expansion into international markets, including Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.
In addition to the recently delivered A321-200NX aircraft, China Eastern’s current Airbus fleet comprises thirty-four A319-100s, 156 A320-200s, 109 A320-200Ns (with 35 more on order), seventy-six A321ceo, thirty A330-200s, twenty-six A330-300s, and twenty A350-900s. The airline also operates a substantial Boeing fleet, including thirty-six B737-700s, three B737-8s (with three more on order), 102 B737-800s, twenty B777-300ERs, and five B787-9s (two of which are currently wet-leased from Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary, along with an additional six on order).
Furthermore, China Eastern was the launch customer for the COMAC C919, operating eight units with plans to acquire an additional 98. The airline also operates twenty-four ARJ21-700s, all of which are wet-leased from OTT Airlines, a subsidiary that China Eastern plans to absorb soon.
Photo Credit: Plane spotters
