Boeing, China Southern Airlines Finalise Order For 12 787-9 Dreamliners

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Boeing and China Southern Airlines finalised an order for 12 787-9 Dreamliners on Oct 12 and valued at US$3.2 billion at current list prices. The new order strengthens China Southern's expanding long-haul fleet, Boeing said in a statement. China Southern Airlines Chief Executive Officer Tan Wangeng in a statement said the 787 Dreamliners had helped the Guangzhou-based carrier to achieve initial success in implementing its internationalisation strategy over the past few years. "It enabled us to make our operation and services more appealing to passengers. "The additional new 787-9s will further increase our capacity and services for our long-haul routes," he added. China Southern Airlines, China's launch customer of the 787, currently operates 10 787-8s. The airplanes have enabled the carrier to launch six new non-stop global routes, connecting Guangzhou to London and Rome in Europe, Vancouver in North America, as well as Perth, Auckland and Christchurch in the Oceania area. Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president, Northeast Asia Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes said China Southern had been a long-standing Boeing customer. "We truly appreciate their confidence in the 787. The 787-9 will help the airline achieve a new level of efficiency and profitability," he added. The 787-9 complements and extends the super-efficient 787 family. With the fuselage stretched by 6 metres (20 feet) over the 787-8, the 787-9 will fly more passengers and more cargo farther with the same exceptional environmental performance. Like the 787-8, the 787-9 brings the economics of large jets to the middle of the market, with 20 per cent less fuel use and 20 per cent fewer emissions than similarly sized airplanes. The 787-9 leverages the visionary design of the 787-8, offering passenger-pleasing features such as large windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride. China's largest airline by fleet size, China Southern Airlines currently operates 700 aircraft, including Boeing 787, 777, 747, 757 and 737s. By 2020, the airline expects to have a fleet of 1,000 aircraft with passenger traffic surpassing 160 million annually. -- BERNAMA