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China Southern Airlines is to boost its growing operations to Europe and gain a larger slice of the fiercely competitive Australia and New Zealand outbound travel market.
The Guangzhou-based carrier, which operates out of Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as Auckland, started a three-times-a-week service to London on June 6, offering passengers from Australia and New Zealand another alternative to Europe.
China Southern Airlines president Si Xia Men said the carrier had worked hard to secure extra landing rights at the busy Heathrow Airport and would go to a daily service between Guangzhou and London by late October or early November.
Mr Si said on Sunday about 60 per cent of all Australians headed to Europe went to London and having a flight every day would boost China Southern's appeal for Australian and New Zealand based travellers.
"If we can operate a daily flight on the Guangzhou-London route I think at that time we will be able to lay a firm foundation for sufficient flight connections to Australasian routes," Mr Si told reporters through a translator during a media briefing in Beijing.
"The number of our transit passengers travelling on the Australasia-Europe routes via Guangzhou is also increasing a lot which has provided extra confidence for China Southern for our future development in the Australasian region."
Qantas, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines are among a plethora of carriers that offer one-stop services to Europe from Australia.
Apart from London, China Southern also serves Amsterdam and Paris from the Guangzhou, the third-largest Chinese city in China behind the capital Beijing and Shanghai.
Mr Si said the airline and local airport authorities were keen to win approval from authorities that would allow short-term visitors to Guangzhou a stopover of less than 72 hours without requiring a visa.
"This can be achieved through our joint efforts, but I cannot give you a fixed time frame now because it is all up to our central government," Mr Si said.
The airline currently has three Airbus A380s in operation, which are being used on domestic routes between Guangzhou and Beijing, as well as Beijing and Hong Kong services.
Mr Si said the double-decker superjumbos would eventually be used on long-haul international routes.
He said Australasia was a key market for the fast-growing airline, adding that China Southern was exploring the possibility of launching new flights or introducing new destinations within Australia.
China is one of the bright spots on the aviation landscape, with figures from the International Air Transport Association showing about half the global industry's profits were generated by by Chinese airlines in calendar 2011.
Moreover, three of the 10 largest airlines based on passengers carried are Chinese flag carriers, with China Southern the largest carrier in the Middle Kingdom.
Industry figures have forecast that China will build 97 new airports between now and the end of the decade.
*The reporter travelled to China courtesy of China Southern and the International Air Transport Association.
The Guangzhou-based carrier, which operates out of Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as Auckland, started a three-times-a-week service to London on June 6, offering passengers from Australia and New Zealand another alternative to Europe.
China Southern Airlines president Si Xia Men said the carrier had worked hard to secure extra landing rights at the busy Heathrow Airport and would go to a daily service between Guangzhou and London by late October or early November.
Mr Si said on Sunday about 60 per cent of all Australians headed to Europe went to London and having a flight every day would boost China Southern's appeal for Australian and New Zealand based travellers.
"If we can operate a daily flight on the Guangzhou-London route I think at that time we will be able to lay a firm foundation for sufficient flight connections to Australasian routes," Mr Si told reporters through a translator during a media briefing in Beijing.
"The number of our transit passengers travelling on the Australasia-Europe routes via Guangzhou is also increasing a lot which has provided extra confidence for China Southern for our future development in the Australasian region."
Qantas, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines are among a plethora of carriers that offer one-stop services to Europe from Australia.
Apart from London, China Southern also serves Amsterdam and Paris from the Guangzhou, the third-largest Chinese city in China behind the capital Beijing and Shanghai.
Mr Si said the airline and local airport authorities were keen to win approval from authorities that would allow short-term visitors to Guangzhou a stopover of less than 72 hours without requiring a visa.
"This can be achieved through our joint efforts, but I cannot give you a fixed time frame now because it is all up to our central government," Mr Si said.
The airline currently has three Airbus A380s in operation, which are being used on domestic routes between Guangzhou and Beijing, as well as Beijing and Hong Kong services.
Mr Si said the double-decker superjumbos would eventually be used on long-haul international routes.
He said Australasia was a key market for the fast-growing airline, adding that China Southern was exploring the possibility of launching new flights or introducing new destinations within Australia.
China is one of the bright spots on the aviation landscape, with figures from the International Air Transport Association showing about half the global industry's profits were generated by by Chinese airlines in calendar 2011.
Moreover, three of the 10 largest airlines based on passengers carried are Chinese flag carriers, with China Southern the largest carrier in the Middle Kingdom.
Industry figures have forecast that China will build 97 new airports between now and the end of the decade.
*The reporter travelled to China courtesy of China Southern and the International Air Transport Association.