Xiamen Airlines has joined the list of Chinese operators that resumed the Boeing 737 MAX services. The airline has reactivated one of the ten B737MAX aircraft on April 3,2023. The remaining nine aircraft are currently listed as being stored at Lanzhou Zhongchuan and have not been confirmed to be returning to service at this time.
The airline flew the aircraft on one of popular route connecting Xiamen with Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.
The airline first indicated it would return the aircraft to service in April 2021. The first flight 737MAX in China since grounding took place in January 2023 when China Southern Airlines became the first Chinese carrier to operate a Boeing 737 MAX commercial flight in almost four years. The next month, it was followed by Hainan Airlines followed by Air China, Jiuyuan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Fuzhou Airlines, and Lucky Air. Xiamen Airlines became the ninth Chinese airline to resume commercial operations on B737MAX flight
Recently, Xiamen Airlines placed an order for 40 Airbus A320neo narrowbodies. The first A320 was delivered in January and took its first flight the following month to Beijing.