China Southern Airlines has announced it will replace the A330 with its flagship superjumbo A380 on flights to Sydney next month.
From 5 December to 28 February, the airline will operate the 506-seat aircraft on one of two daily services (CZ326) between Sydney to Guangzhou.
The second daily Sydney departure (CZ302) was boosted in October this year, with the A330-200 replaced with an A330-300. This provided an additional 66 seats between Australia and China.
Together, new aircraft provide the airline with 50 percent more capacity on flights from Sydney during the holiday period.
According to the airline’s regional general manager, China Southern already offers more flights from Australia to mainland China than any other carrier.
He said the A380’s return to Sydney will be seasonal and will offer the highest standard of comfort during the summer peak.
China Southern’s A380 first arrived in Sydney during the last summer period.
China Southern’s superjumbo is configured in three classes – first class, business class and economy.
The upper deck has 70 flat-bed business class seats and 76 economy class seats. The lower deck has a first class section with eight platinum private suites and 352 economy class seats.
This is the second time this month the airline has made a push to boost travel between Australia and China. Last week, the airline signed an agreement with Tourism Australia fort both groups to invest a further $4.2 million on advertising in China.
Figures recently released by Tourism Australia revealed in the year to 30 September, Chinese visitors increased to 789,300 – a 10.5 percent rise on the previous 12 months.
Annual spending by Chinese visitors in Australia is expected to rise to $13 billion by 2020.
