China Southern Airlines launching new Commuter Network

China Southern Airlines has announced that its new fleet of ERJ145 commuter aircraft will be added to its Guangzhou Baiyun Airport base starting from July.

“The newly delivered commuter aircraft will serve more than ten routes including Guangzhou-outbound services to Beihai, Changzhi, Luoyang, Nantong, Yichang and Zhanjiang”, said Mr. Li Kun, Vice President, China Southern Airlines. In total, China Southern will receive six new ERJ145 aircraft by January 2005.

China Southern Airlines’ new ERJ145 aircraft are in a 50 seat configuration. Passengers flying such a commuter jet will pay for only RMB 10 airport tax, saving RMB80 for one domestic round trip compared with standard route services.

After the New Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is in operation, China Southern Airlines will create a special commuter check-in counter to handle checked luggage, offering passengers a fast track boarding process. China Southern is also to work with local airports to allow passengers to pick-up their luggage immediately upon disembarking.

China Southern’s new Guangzhou-based commuter aircraft will serve two types of routes - short-haul routes regionally around the Guangzhou marketplace including Beihai, Meixian and Zhanjiang offering shuttle services to short haul routes with those medium and long-haul services outbound from Guangzhou. China Southern’s Guangzhou-Zhanjiang service will be increased to 4/5 flights daily and Guangzhou-Meixian will be increased from one to two flights daily.

“Commuter flights will create more transit connections,” said Mr. Li, adding that “China Southern Airlines had not offered direct flights from Zhanjiang or Meixian to Beijing as local passengers have had to transit in Guangzhou to Beijing. Once our flight frequencies increase, the transit connections to Beijing will become more standardized.”

The second type of routing will be medium-haul point-to-point routes such as Changzhi, Lianyungang, Luoyang, Nantong, Nanyang, Xiangfan, Xuzhou, Yichang and Zhoushan. Direct services from Guangzhou to these cities have used trunk-line aircraft such as Boeing 737’s on these routes and has been difficult for the airline to generate sufficient passenger loads. China Southern's new commuter jets are expected to meet the current market demands and the airline will be able to offer one or more daily flights for such markets.

All commuter flights will enjoy China Southern’s series of long-term discounted fares, including 50% off discounted tickets during the first 10 days of the new commuter service.