The Civil Aviation Administration of China approved the opening of another direct flight between Guangzhou and Changsha by Shenzhen Airlines starting this Friday (September 17th).

The new daily flight is scheduled to depart from Guangzhou at 8:10 A.M. and arrive in Changsha at 9:20 A.M while the return flight will depart at 10:20 A.M. and arrive in Guangzhou at 11:25 A.M. Shenzhen Airlines said the newly opened flight could help better relieve the flight shortage between the two provincial capitals.

As Guangdong and Hunan are speeding up economic and trade cooperation, flights between Guangzhou and Changsha have been in demand in recent years. Meanwhile, it is reported that Shenzhen and Guangzhou are going to launch an optional flight service in the near future. Through this service, passengers on domestic flights could choose their destination - either Guangzhou or Shenzhen.

Shenzhen Airlines was the second airline following Southern Airlines to have an operation base approved in the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The company will operate four new routes to Xi'an, Zhanjiang, Guilin and Zhengzhou starting Friday.

Shenzhen Airlines has opened two routes to Wuxi and Nanjing at Guangzhou airport.

With two Boeing 737 planes already in service, Shenzhen Airlines will add eight more commercial planes by the end of next year.

(Newsgd.com September 15, 2004)