China Southern Airlines – a member of SkyTeam and the largest airline in The People’s Republic of China announced the launch of direct commercial air service from Southern China to London’s Heathrow Airport.
Departing from its worldwide hub at Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou, the airline’s Airbus A330 arrived on June 6,2012 at Heathrow International Airport around 15:25 local time.
This marks the first direct domestic route from Guangzhou to London and the third direct international route for China Southern Airlines from Guangzhou to Europe.
China Southern will be offering this Sino/UK service three-times weekly; every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, departing Guangzhou at 9:00 a.m., arriving in London at 15:25.
Flights to China will depart Heathrow International Airport at 18:25 every Sunday and will arrive in at Guangzhou at 13:25 the following day. Flights on Wednesday and Friday will depart at 22:30 in London and arrive in Guangzhou at 17:30 the next day. All times local.
This new route is expected to further promote economic and cultural exchanges between UK and China, and provide sports fans with an air bridge to attend the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London this July.
The United Kingdom is the largest tourist market from Europe to Australia and New Zealand. More than one million passengers originate from Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Brisbane and Adelaide, transit in Asia and continue onward to London.
In 2011, China Southern Airlines’ Canton Route to Australia carried nearly 600,000 passengers, the largest share between China and Australia. Passengers who traveled to Australia and New Zealand via Guangzhou increased from 148,000 in 2010 to 343,000 in 2011, up 132% on the previous year.
With its extensive Chinese domestic route network, Asia routes and new Australia and New Zealand routes, China Southern Airlines can provides visitors from UK or Europe with more convenient travel choices to visit China, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
