China Southern Airlines is returning to Adelaide Airport with it resuming flights between the airport and Guangzhou from December 12 this year.
It will fly three times a week on its 787-8 Dreamliner.
"China Southern Airlines is looking forward to strengthen the cooperation with various sectors in South Australia, continue to expand the 'Canton Route', and bring more travellers from China and around the world to South Australia," said China Southern Airlines regional general manager for Australia and New Zealand Zhixing Sun.
Adelaide Airport managing director Brenton Cox commented: "This is a significant win for our exporters with the widebody Dreamliner able to carry South Australian products such as fresh seafood and produce direct to one of China’s largest cities, and in turn providing easier one-stop access to markets throughout China."
The airline also reported its capacity was up 12% in August 2024, compared to the same month last year. It was largely driven by international capacity increasing by approximately 61%. Domestic and regional capacities were up around 2% and 33%, respectively.
Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) were up around 20.7%. International RPKs were up 63.6%, while domestic and regional were up 11.8% and 30.5%, respectively.
Passenger load factor was 87.19%, an increase of 6.31 percentage points compared to August last year. Domestic load factor was up 7.37 percentage points, while international load factor was up 1.49 percentage point. Regional load factor had declined 1.85 percentage point.
During the month, the airline had welcomed six aircraft. The jets consisted of three 737 MAX 8 aircraft, one A321neo, and one C919 aircraft. It added that it withdrew four aircraft: one A330-200, one A321, one 737-800, and one 737-700. As of the end of August, it operated a total of 911 commercial aircraft.