Ruili Airlines

Sunan Ruili Airlines Co., Ltd., branded as Ruili Airlines is a Chinese low-cost carrier headquartered at Wuxi Shuofang Airport, with hubs at Kunming Changshui International Airport and Dehong Mangshi International Airport. It provides both domestic and international services to destinations within China and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.^[3][4]

Sunan Ruili Airlines Co., Ltd.

IATA ICAO Call sign DR[1] RLH[1] SENDI[2]
Founded	2014; 11 years ago (2014)
Hubs	Wuxi Shuofang
Secondary hubs	Kunming Changshui Dehong Mangshi
Focus cities	Chengdu
Fleet size	25
Destinations	34
Parent company	Wuxi Traffic Industry Group
Headquarters	Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
Key people	Ye Yajuan (Chairman)
Website	http://www.rlair.net/

Sunan Ruili Airlines Co., Ltd.
Simplified Chinese	苏南瑞丽航空公司
Traditional Chinese	蘇南瑞麗航空公司
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sū Nán Ruìlì Hángkōng gōngsī

History

The airline was established in 2014 as Ruili Airlines Co., Ltd. and is wholly owned by the Jingcheng Group.^[4] It received its air operator's certificate on 22 January 2014^[5] and flew its first service on 18 May 2014, between Kunming and Mangshi.^[6] Five Boeing 787-9s were ordered in 2016, but as of November 2023 none had been delivered.

On January 15, 2021, Ruili Airlines completed the industrial and commercial change registration. Wuxi Traffic Group became the new controlling shareholder of Ruili Airlines with a shareholding ratio of 57%. The holding ratio of Jingcheng Group decreased to 13%, and the remaining 30% of the equity was held by Dong Lecheng, president of Jingcheng Group and chairman of Ruili Airlines.^[7]

On March 28, 2021, Ruili Airlines announced that the acquisition process was completed, and for the first time, it was officially announced that it was a holding subsidiary of Wuxi Transportation Industry Group.^[8]

On October 18, 2021, the airlines officially changed its registered name from Ruili Airlines Co., Ltd. to Sunan Ruili Airlines Co., Ltd.^[8]

Destinations

As of March 2018, the airline served 34 destinations in China and in Southeast Asia.^{[9][needs update]}

Fleet

Ruili Airlines Boeing 737-700 taxiing at Tianjin Binhai International Airport

Current fleet

As of February 2025^[update], the Ruili Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:^{[citation needed]}

Ruili Airlines fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers			Notes
			C	Y	Total
Boeing 737-700	6	—	—	144	144
Boeing 737-800	18	—	8	156	164	Ex-Shenzhen Airlines aircraft.
			8	162	170	Ex-China Eastern Airlines aircraft
			8	168	176	Ex-Air Berlin aircraft.
			4	180	184
			—	186	186
			–	189	189
Boeing 737 MAX	—	60[10]	TBA			Unspecified variants.[11]
Boeing 787-9[needs update]	—	6	TBA
Total	24	66

Fleet development

The airline received its two Boeing 737-700s from Air Berlin (formerly D-ABLE and D-ABLF) on 6 January 2014. However, the aircraft were returned to Southwest Airlines in May 2015. The first 737-800 was received on 30 March 2014, and the direct purchase Boeing 737-700 from Boeing was on 25 November 2014. It has orders and commitments for a further 13 Boeing 737 aircraft (seven Boeing 737-700s and six Boeing 737 MAXs).

In mid-2015, the airline signed a commitment to purchase and lease 60 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, subject to final negotiations.^[12]

In July 2016, Ruili Airlines finalized an order for six Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The deal was worth US$1.59 billion.^[13][14]