China Southern Airlines has committed to purchasing 80 Boeing 737s, of which, 30 will be Next Generations and 50 will be MAXs, valued at about $8.4 billion.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes senior vice president for North East Asia sales, Ihssane Mounir says: “China Southern’s commitment is a solid endorsement of the popularity of the Next Generation 737 and 737 MAX. We share an enduring partnership with China Southern and we are excited to see that the 737 airplanes will play an important role in their continued success.”

China Southern has more than 600 aircraft consisting of Boeing 787s, 777s, 757s and 737s, and Airbus A380s, 330s, 321s, 320s and 319s.

On 16 December China Southern Airlines also started three times a week Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flights from the Chinese city of Guangzhou to Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island. The outbound flight, CZ617 leaves Guangzhou at 00.50h on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, landing in Christchurch at 17.10h. The return flight, CZ618, leaves Christchurch at 22.30h and lands back in Guangzhou at 05.30h the next day.