A Sichuan Airlines (3U) Airbus A321 with its special 100th aircraft livery was unveiled by a source familiar with the matter via Sina Weibo on Monday, a milestone reflecting the impressive scale of the airline across China.

Sichuan Airlines took delivery of its 100th Airbus aircraft, Registration B-1663 on May 22, 2015, making the Chengdu-based carrier become the seventh airline in China to have a fleet of 100 or more aircraft.

To commemorate the milestone, the Chengdu-based carrier has applied a special 100th aircraft livery on the newest of its Sharklet-equipped A320s.

On Monday, several photos of an A321 with the special 100th aircraft livery were published by a Weibo user from Sichuan Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. Ltd., saying "the aircraft, Registration B-1663, is under the repainting with the special 100th livery".

The specially-painted A321 aircraft is painted in a new dynamic livery of bright red featuring the number "100" on the fuselage.

Since launching in 1986, Sichuan Airlines has grown from a small domestic carrier to become the fastest airline brand in Southwest China to grow its fleet to 100 aircraft.

Based in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in Southwest China, Sichuan Airlines has a network to some 200 domestic destinations including Beijing, Harbin, Hangzhou, Xi'an and Sanya as well as international routes to Asia, Australia, and North America. Now, the Chengdu-based carrier operates China's largest all-Airbus fleet of 105 aircraft, including 24 A319s, 47 A320s, 26 A321s and eight A330s.