Auckland Airport welcomes additional China Southern Airlines flights on Guangzhou to Auckland route

Auckland Airport has welcomed the decision by China Southern Airlines to extend its offering of 10 flights per week on the Guangzhou to Auckland route until 30 October 2014.

China Southern Airlines announced last year that it was increasing the number of weekly flights on this route from seven to ten over the 2013 / 2014 peak summer period. Due to continued strong demand for this service and growth of the Canton route services, China Southern Airlines has made the decision to extend this period.

The additional flights will see an extra 45,000 seats on the Guangzhou to Auckland route during the extended period of 28 February to 30 October 2014, which will be serviced by the new Boeing 787 aircraft.

Glenn Wedlock, Auckland Airport’s general manager aeronautical commercial, says, “This strong growth in Chinese direct arrivals to New Zealand has meant we are now ahead of our Ambition 2020 direct service capacity target of 573,000 visitor arrivals from China. This is as a result of our ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ business strategy to grow travel markets.”

“The recent signing of a cooperation agreement between Auckland Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport will help to build air traffic on the Canton route across the Guangzhou hub and support the added flight frequency.”

“This latest announcement from China Southern Airlines is a response to the high Chinese demand for direct New Zealand air services as opposed to the more traditional one-stop Australia and New Zealand holidays,” says Mr Wedlock.

“The increases in capacity and connectivity resulting from this China Southern announcement also show the significance of our tourism industry’s aspiration to increase air services and deliver growth for the country, as outlined in the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association’s ‘Tourism 2025 Strategy.”

Mr Henry He, China Southern Airlines’ general manager Australasia, says “We are very happy with the success that China Southern Airlines has experienced in New Zealand and this latest increase in flights is a reflection of this.”

“Our Guangzhou to Auckland service offers convenient morning and evening departure and arrival options. We also provide further services on our growing network from Guangzhou through to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Asian destinations including India and Japan,” says Mr He. “As well as this we now offer a direct service from Guangzhou to New York, providing even more connectivity for New Zealanders.”

“New Zealanders are also entitled to 72 hours visa-free entry to Guangzhou. This means they can fully explore the delights of the city when on their way to another destination.”