Air China to Use First 777-300ER on Domestic Route from July 1

Air China will use the first of its soon to delivered Boeing 777-300ERs on its Beijing – Shanghai Hongqiao route from July 1, subject to delivery changes, replacing a 777-200 on two of its daily flights. The airline has 19 of the type on order and although these will be mainly used on international flights, Air China plans to also use them on some domestic services, initially for crew training purposes and later to maintain utilisation.

The aircraft are due to be configured in a three-class arrangement with 8 First Class, 42 Business Class and 313 Economy seats. Although the 777-300ER is larger than its predecessor, this will actually represent a small decline in seating on these two flights, as the 777-200s have a two-class 345-seat arrangement. The 777-300ER is currently displayed to operate the Beijing – Shanghai Hongqiao until the end of the summer season.

Air China’s first international destination for the type is planned to be Frankfurt, with the first scheduled departure tentatively set for September 1.

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NOTE: Schedule data extracted from Flightbase for week commencing April 14, 2011; Traffic data extracted from IATA BSP system for the year ending January 2011.