Arrival of A380 completes CZ regional expansion

Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy has underlined the “critical” role of China Southern in helping to achieve amibitious 2020 goals from the China market, as the airline’s inaugural Airbus A380 service to Sydney touched down.

The daily A380 service between Guangzhou and Sydney replaces its CZ325/326 A330-300 service, and is operated by one of the airline’s five Airbus A380s.

The upgrade a significant part of a major overhaul of its Australian operations which has also seen the airline's latest A330-300 and A330-200 aircraft recently introduced to Melbourne and Sydney routes, following their introduction to the Brisbane and Perth routes earlier this year.

McEvoy described China Southern as one of TA’s most important aviation partners as the tourism body increasingly looks to China.

"Ever since the airline first started flights to our country, China Southern has continually looked to expand its Australian operations, through opening up new ports, building additional frequency and, now, by deploying the largest commercial passenger aircraft in the world,” he said.

"Last year, China Southern carried more than one in five of all Chinese visitors to Australia, and the introduction of the A380 is the most powerful indication yet of the airline's future ambitions and confidence in the Australian market.”

Meanwhile, China Southern regional general manager Australia New Zealand Henry He described the A380 superjumbo as the "final piece" in a major regional expansion strategy that also sees one of the airline’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliners deployed to New Zealand today.

“We’ve been overhauling our regional operations this year with modern Airbus airliners deployed to every Australian port, and the arrival of the A380 on our Guangzhou to Sydney route marks the culmination of these efforts to become a bigger player on the Australian aviation scene,” he said.

The airline's president and chairman Si Xianmin and Executive Vice President Chen Gang were among the China Southern delegates met by New South Wales Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Stoner at a ceremony to mark the flight.

The upgrade is expected to boost annual capacity on the route by 40%, or 162,000 seats, and inject an estimated $100 million into the NSW economy.

Travel Today is flying on the return A380 service from Sydney to Guangzhou – check out tomorrow's issue for our verdict.

Advertise with us

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

a380 airlines andrew mcevoy china china southern henry he