China Southern Airlines officially inaugurated two international direct flights to Dubai and Yangon at a ceremony yesterday.
The Shenzhen-Dubai route is the updated version of the previous route that had a stopover in Wuhan. The direct flight cuts the trip between Shenzhen and Dubai down to eight hours and operates every Wednesday and Sunday.
The flight departs from Shenzhen at 5:10 p.m. and arrives in Dubai at 10:15 p.m. It leaves from Dubai at 12:15 a.m. every Monday and Thursday and arrives in Shenzhen at 11:20 a.m.
During the promotional period, round-trip fare between the two cities is 2,700 yuan (US$388) before tax.
A geological crossover of the Belt and Road Initiative, UAE is the major gateway to Europe and Africa from China. The opening of the direct route is believed to stimulate tourism and trade between Shenzhen and Dubai.
The flight to Yangon operates every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with departure at 11:10 p.m. and arrival at 1 a.m. It leaves Yangon at 2 a.m. every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrives in Shenzhen at 6:15 a.m.
The occupancy rate for the first flight to Yangon reached 94 percent. The booking rate for the flights in the first week since the opening also reached 80 percent.
The airline company offers promotions at 390 yuan for a round-trip ticket before tax. Tourism packages of six days/four nights and five days/three nights are also in place to attract Shenzhen travelers and mainland travelers that make transfers from Shenzhen to Yangon.
The opening of the two routes brought the total number of international routes from Shenzhen to world destinations to 17.
Since the end of 2013, after Shenzhen International Airport’s Terminal 3 was put into operation, China Southern Airlines has sped up internationalization by opening a dozen air routes from Shenzhen to international cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Moscow.
Domestically, passengers from Shenzhen taking China Southern Airlines flights can reach 60 destinations. The Shenzhen branch of China Southern Airlines has a fleet of 52, including eight A330 wide-body planes.