China Southern Airlines to fly twice-daily New Zealand service

China Southern Airlines is to operate twice-daily flights between Auckland and Guangzhou from Aug. 1, the carrier announced Wednesday.

The move followed the success of the its summer peak season double-daily service, the airline said in a joint statement with Auckland Airport.

The new schedule, to be serviced by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, would see return flights increase from 10 per week to 14 per week.

China Southern Airlines General Manager New Zealand Mike Ma said the airline had seen strong returns on its investment in the New Zealand market.

"We have great confidence in the Auckland-Guangzhou route due to the high level of tourism demand between China and New Zealand, " Ma said.

Auckland Airport general manager aeronautical commercial Norris Carter said that the new schedule would add 95,000 seats on the route and contribute 97 million NZ dollars (73.1 million U.S. dollars) to the New Zealand economy.

China Southern Airlines started flying the Guangzhou-Auckland route in April 2011 with three services per week, and increased the service after three years to twice-daily in the peak season.