Ruili Airlines to lease three Boeing 737 MAXs

China’s low-cost carrier (LCC) Ruili Airlines has agreed to lease three Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from AVIC International Leasing Co. in an effort to facilitate its international expansion. No delivery dates have been announced.

The Kunming-based carrier also signed an international routes cooperation agreement with Yunnan Kangxin International Travel Agency and Jiangxi Chamber of Commerce in Yunnan.

Ruili chairman Ma Zhanwei told local media last month the carrier plans to open at least two international routes in October. The LCC received approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to operate international routes in February.

Ruili Airlines also has a cooperation in place with JC International Airlines, another subsidiary of Ruili parent Yunnan Jingcheng Group, to explore the international market. JC International is based at Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia.

Founded in 2014, JC International launched operations in March 2017 with flights to three destinations in Cambodia. It operates two Airbus A320s as of March 2017.

Ruili Airlines operates a fleet of 13 Boeing 737 aircraft. In July 2016, Ruili finalized an order for six Boeing 787-9s with deliveries scheduled from 2021.

According to Ma Zhanwei, the carrier plans to expand its fleet to 20 aircraft in 2018, 40 by 2020 and 80 by 2025.