News
China Southern outlines initial B787-9 and MAX 8 operations
March 16th 2018
China Southern Airlines, Asia’s largest carrier, will take delivery of the first of 20 on-order B787-9s in April. The airline already owns ten B787-8s. Read More »
The Guangzhou-based SkyTeam member will deploy the new aircraft type on crew familiarization flights between its hub and Beijing from May 1.
From mid-June, the airline will roster the -9 on the six-weekly Guangzhou-San Francisco direct route, as well as the thrice-weekly Guangzhou-Wuhan-San Francisco triangular service.
China Southern’s -9s will be configured with 28 business class and 269 economy class seats.
The Dreamliner will be replacing four-class B777-300ERs on the routes, which means first class and premium economy class service will no longer be offered to San Francisco following the aircraft swap.
Separately, China Southern’s B737 MAX 8 will perform its maiden international service on the Guangzhou-Manila route on March 20. This will be followed by Urumqi-St. Petersburg from June 2, replacing a B787-8.
China Southern has now taken delivery of seven MAX 8s from an original order for 80 of the type.
In other China Southern news, the airline has set up a branch company in Yunnan and is in the process of launching eight new domestic routes from Yunnan this month. It will also open a Kunming-Islamabad service in June. Kunming is the provincial capital of Yunnan and a stronghold of China Eastern Airlines, a competitor to China Southern.
