China Southern adds Dreamliner flights to Australasia

China Southern Airlines will add more Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights to Australasia in the coming months.

Effective 31 March 2015, the Guangzhou-based carrier will deploy the modern twin-aisle aircraft on its Perth route. Flights will operate three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with the B787-8 replacing the Airbus A330-200 China Southern currently operates on the route.

The upgrade will add 10 more seats per flight, and will offer Perth passengers China Southern’s newest cabin products, including flat-bed seats in first and business classes.

Then on 1 August, China Southern will add four more weekly flights to Auckland using its Dreamliner. Currently the airline flies to New Zealand’s largest city 10 times a week, but the frequency will rise to 14 weekly services, or twice a day.

China Southern's first class flat-bed seats
China Southern’s first class flat-bed seats
China Southern’s general manager for New Zealand, Mike Ma, said the additional Auckland flights were being offered due to strong demand from Chinese customers. The airline first launched the Guangzhou-Auckland route in 2011, initially with three weekly flights.

“We have great confidence in the Auckland-Guangzhou route due to the high level of tourism demand between China and New Zealand,” Ma said.

China Southern, which became the first Chinese Dreamliner customer in 2013, now operates a fleet of five B787-8s and has a further five on order. It configures the aircraft with 228 seats in three classes – four in first class, 24 in business class and 200 in economy.

China Southern also operates regular flights to Sydney using its Airbus A380 aircraft, Melbourne and Brisbane using an A330, and seasonal charter flights to Cairns.

sourced:traveldailymedia.com