China Southern marks new London route
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China Southern Airlines celebrated the imminent launch of its Heathrow-Guangzhou flights with travel agents and tour operators last night.
The airline held a drinks reception and dinner at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel, London to showcase its new direct route, which will operate three times a week from 6 June. It is the first route from the UK to link into the south of China, with Guangzhou its third largest city.
China Southern made it no secret it would have launched with more weekly services if slots had been available at Heathrow. Lin Jian, deputy general manager at China Southern told Travel Daily he hopes the route will be boosted to a five weekly, if not daily, service this time next year. Despite the airline’s position as one of China’s largest national carriers and its new entry into the UK, its London seats are said to be 60% full with Brits, spread more or less equally across leisure and business.
Load factor for its first month are at around 60%, with four classes available (first, business, premium economy and economy). Its premium economy seats cannot currently be booked due to check-in procedures, but will launch soon.
Aside from the UK route, China Southern has also expanded its connections from Guangzhou into Australia and New Zealand, which it hopes will also appeal the UK market. The airline has also opened a lounge at Guangzhou airport and has lounge access at Heathrow through its SkyTeam membership.