Shenzhen Airlines posted a record profit of 360 million yuan (US$46.5 million) in 2006, more than triple the previous year's result, on a 40.1% lift in operating revenue to 6.45 billion yuan.

President Li Kun said the carrier's May 2005 transition from a state-owned enterprise to a privately run company was the catalyst for the "very successful" performance. During reorganization it realized gains of 2.72 billion yuan from the sale of a 65% stake originally held by Guangdong Development Bank to Bright Ocean Corp. and Huirun Investment International. It has been China's leading private carrier since then and the country's fifth-largest airline. Passenger boardings grew 24.3% year-over-year to 7.1 million and load factor rose to 77.9%.

This year Shenzhen Airlines expects to maintain revenue growth of at least 40% and is targeting 10 million passengers. It continues to pursue its "369" strategy to expand its fleet to 70 in three years, 100 in six years and 160 in nine years. It took delivery of 12 aircraft last year and now operates 45 A320s and 737s.