China Southern’s Dreamliner Makes NZ History

China Southern’s Dreamliner Makes NZ History

China Southern Airlines (CZ) became the first airline to fly a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to New Zealand when CZ305 landed in Auckland shortly after 4pm yesterday afternoon.

New Zealand Associate Minister for Tourism Christopher Tremain, Auckland Airport Chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden and Chinese Ambassador Wang Lutong welcomed the aircraft.

The fuel-efficient, whisper quiet aircraft will be joined by a second Boeing 787 into Auckland from December 5, 2013, when China Southern services increase from daily to 10 flights a week for the summer high season. These services (CZ335) will arrive in Auckland at 7am on Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays, then depart as CZ336 at 10am, arriving in Guangzhou at 5pm.

China Southern is deploying its Dreamliners to the region as part of a major fleet upgrade that saw a new A380 Superjumbo service touch down in Sydney yesterday to join an all-Airbus fleet of the latest A330s operating into Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

China Southern General Manager New Zealand Mike Ma said the airline was thrilled to be making New Zealand aviation history with yesterday’s flight.

“As a fast and efficient aircraft offering 228 seats across first, business and economy, the Dreamliner is ideal for the Auckland route and we will be watching closely to see how both 787 services perform over summer,” Mr Ma said.

“Australia may be the first in the region to score one of our new A380s, but getting the ultra-modern Dreamliner onto this run is super exciting for New Zealand and we hope the travelling public will choose it to fly on our celebrated Canton Route to China and the rest of the world.”

“Our other Dreamliners are flying from our modern main hub of Guangzhou in southern China to London and Tokyo and will soon fly to Vancouver, so it will be possible for New Zealanders to fly to these wonderful locations in the world’s most advanced jet airliner,” Mr Ma added.

Mr Ma said China Southern had so far received five of 10 Dreamliners it had on order.

The revolutionary B787, which offers a new level of passenger comfort including large, electrically-dimmable windows, bigger stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude and cleaner air, replaces Airbus A330-200s, which have been on the Auckland run since China Southern became the first Chinese carrier to offer New Zealand services in April, 2011.

In 2012 China Southern carried more than 122,000 passengers between China and New Zealand on its direct daily flights. It is the first to own and operate the A380 Superjumbo and B787 Dreamliner concurrently, making its fleets one of the youngest in the world.

New Zealanders now have 72 hour visa-free access to the airline’s Guangzhou hub in southern China when flying on to another international destination. Fly on China Southern’s new Dreamliner from Auckland to Guangzhou from NZ$1500* in Economy and from NZ$4900* in Business Class.

For more information or to book call China Southern’s national reservations system on 0064 9 302 0666 or see your local travel agent.

* Fares are subject to conditions and availability, on sale now until November 30, 2013, and valid for departure until September 2014. Prices include taxes correct at date of release.

Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines (CZ) has operated into Australasia for more than 12 years. It offers direct daily services from Auckland to Guangzhou, scheduled to increase to 10 services a week over summer. The airline also flies twice daily between Sydney and Guangzhou, twice daily from Melbourne, three times a week from Perth and four times a week from Brisbane (increasing to daily flights from November 22). China Southern operates the largest airline fleet in Asia and with more than 86 million passengers carried in 2012 it is the fifth largest carrier in the world.

ENDS

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