The 13 787s and five A380s will now arrive from 2011, Board Secretary Xie Bing said Wednesday in Hong Kong. The carrier is also in talks to postpone four Boeing 777 freighters due this year, said chief financial officer Xu Jiebo.

China Southern and other Chinese carriers have slowed expansion on overseas routes as business and leisure travelers pare long-haul trips amid a slowing economy. The delays will hit Airbus and Boeing as the planemakers had counted on orders in China, Asia’s biggest aviation market, to help offset plunging demand in Europe and the US.

China Southern had planned to use the A380 superjumbos, previously due to arrive from last year, to fly from Beijing to cities including Paris, London and New York. The 787s were earmarked for services including Guangzhou-Vancouver.

The carrier and its parent are also seeking further funds from the government to help reduce debts, chairman Si Xianmin said. Last year, the airline’s state-controlled parent won a 3 billion yuan ($439 million) capital injection.

“How much we can get is up to the government,” Si said at a press conference. The parents of Air China Ltd. and China Eastern Airlines Corp. are also seeking government money, he added.

The carrier is due to receive 49 new planes this year, including the four 777 freighters it is seeking to delay. It also plans to sell off or retire 23 older aircraft. The fleet should grow to 375 planes by the end of the year from 348 at the end of last year, Jiebo said. The carrier would spend 15.8 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) on new planes this year, he added.

Source: Bloomberg