China Southern Won’t Bring A380 Back To U.S. Flights This Summer

China Southern aims to relaunch its China-U.S. network on July 1 with 38 weekly flights, including 12 to Los Angeles, but it will not bring back its Airbus A380.

Los Angeles in 2012 became China Southern’s first international A380 destination, and Guangzhou-Los Angeles has been its only year-round A380 route. Amsterdam and Sydney have seasonal A380 service. China Southern is still planning its upcoming schedule, including opportunities from new airport Beijing Daxing.

The large increase in U.S. flights indicates China Southern is planning – if not exactly July 1, then in the near future – for Chinese authorities to lift restrictions limiting airlines to one weekly passenger flight per country.

That could allow Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to increase their U.S.-China flights, which have been blocked to the U.S. government’s frustration.

China Southern will deploy 777-300ERs on its proposed nine weekly Guangzhou-Los Angeles flights. Before coronavirus China Southern sent the A380 daily.

Its resumption also includes A330s on three weekly Shenyang-Los Angeles flights and 787s on other U.S. routes, according to a preliminary schedule submitted to the U.S. and subject to change.

China Southern never regularly flew the A380 to other U.S. cities, although it previously considered sending the type to New York. Instead it chose to increase frequency with smaller aircraft.

The nine weekly Guangzhou-Los Angeles 777 flights could theoretically have the passenger capacity consolidated to a fewer number of A380 flights, albeit with less schedule flexibility.

A greater loss would be the A380’s smaller cargo hold compared to the 777.

The global decrease in flights has reduced capacity for air cargo, about half of which is transported in the bellies of passenger aircraft.

Mainland Chinese airlines have fewer freight aircraft compared to regional peers Cathay Pacific and Korean Air. China lacks an all-cargo airline equivalent to FedEx, UPS, or Atlas Air.

While most airlines have grounded or even retired A380s, China Southern has kept its A380s flying during the coronavirus crisis – albeit due to a quirk in aviation policy.

China restricted airlines to one weekly passenger flight per country, a rule meant to ensure Chinese airports could thoroughly screen international passengers.

As China was seeing a rapid decrease of locally transmitted coronavirus cases in March, imported cases were growing as Chinese nationals returned home.

The one weekly rule was irrespective of aircraft size, allowing China Southern to use its 506-seat A380 on its one weekly flight to the U.S. while Air China and China Eastern’s largest aircraft only had around 300 seats.

The cap on flights saw ticket prices multiply as more Chinese wanted to return home, and some business activity resumed.

U.S. airlines stopped flying to China while connecting carriers like Korean Air reduced their schedule and Cathay Pacific could not carry transfer passengers due to a local ban.

China Southern’s five A380s did not fly between early February, the start of the outbreak, and late March, when the one weekly rule took force. (One aircraft flew a single Beijing-Guangzhou service in mid-February.)

Since then the A380s have flown to Amsterdam, London, Sydney and Vancouver, according to Flightradar24 data.