OREANDA-NEWS. March 25, 2014. China Southern Airlines, www.csair.com, the largest airline in the People’s Republic of China, is pleased to announce that it has taken delivery of its first of seven new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The announcement was made at a ceremony held tat the Boeing facility in Seattle.

With the delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER, China Southern will begin one daily flight between Guangzhou (CAN) and Shanghai (SHA) Hongqiao in coming March and plans to begin direct service between Guangzhou (CAN) and New York City (JFK) this summer.

From 2014 to 2016, China Southern will take delivery of another nine Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

China Southern’s new 777-300ER can accommodate 309 passengers in a four-class configuration with 4 First Class, 32 Business Class, 44 Premium Economy and 227 Economy seats.

Mr. Zhang Zifang, COO, China Southern Airlines said, “China Southern is the first airline to operate the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 simultaneously and the arrival today of the 777-300ER is another important development for China Southern, another in our commitment to provide outstanding products and services to our passengers. We’re confident that both these new products will be winners, especially when combined with our great China Southern service.”

"We are honored to play a part in China Southern’s growing success and proud to celebrate this milestone together," said Ihssane Mounir, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Northeast Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

He added that, "the 777-300ER is a great choice for China Southern. Its combination of efficiency, industry-leading reliability and award-winning cabin design will continue to help China Southern generate more revenue and provide a superior passenger experience."

Speaking at the delivery ceremony at the Boeing factory in Seattle, Mr. Dong Suguang, Vice President, China Southern Airlines said, “As always, the comfort of our customers is front and center of our design process. This brand-new airplane features so many highlights and we believe the results represent a very significant upgrade in the products we can offer.”

China Southern Airlines’ new 777-300ER features:

First Class - Fitted with four luxury seats that recline 180 degrees, 82” pitch and 33” wide seat width, 1.52 meters high suite, along with a 23” personal HD entertainment screen with Touch PMU handset.

Business Class - Seating is in a 1-2-1 configuration and staggered layout, guaranteeing convenient and sensible movement onboard for every passenger. Seats can be adjusted into a fully flat bed of 76“ length and 29” bed width. Annular placement of seats with upper deck privacy creates an independent "private room". A three-point safety seatbelt to further assures passengers during take-off and landing.

Premium Economy Class - The jewel of China Southern’s new 777-300ER is the new Premium Economy Class that has been specially designed to meet the needs of passengers need extra space.  Premium Economy provides seating in a fixed structure that ensures more privacy space than the traditional Economy Class. It fits the industry’s first fixed “living space” main cabin seat with no intrusion and greater living space with fixed living space seat with a 38”pitch – six inches more than traditional Economy Class. When reclined, the seat-pan moves forward and a 123° reclined angle is provided. It has a large table, cocktail table, footrest, a 10.6-inch personal television, an in-seat power outlet, a multi-port connector for personal devices and extra personal LED light and stowage space.

Economy Class - Configured with adjustable headrest and footrest. The unique cradlestyle articulation and Optimized slimline frame design, with 32” pitch and an 19” width provides comfortable experience. All seats are fitted with 8.9 inch personal entertainment screens and USB port.

IFE AVOD – China Southern Airlines’ new 777-300ER is equipped with the Thales TopSeries AVANT® in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) system.  Based on the Android™ Operating System, passengers will benefit from the system’s HD design capacitive touch screen and unique TOUCH PMU handset which allows First and Business Class passengers to play numerous interactive games. System programs are offered in five languages, English, Simplified Chinese, French, Japanese and Korean. Beyond the convenience of on-demand entertainment, passengers have a wide selection of applications including interactive 3D Maps, 12 games, Flight Connect information, eBooks, eShopping, and Picture Viewer. Electronic surveys are also on-board to support China Southern Airlines’ passenger-airline relations.