New passenger air route opens to connect NE China, Frankfurt

SHENYANG, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China Southern Airlines, a leading Chinese airline, opened a new passenger air route on Thursday, linking Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province with Frankfurt.

This new intercontinental route is the first direct regular route to Germany opened by a domestic airline in the northeastern region of China.

The flight is scheduled at 1:30 a.m. every Thursday in Shenyang and is expected to arrive in Frankfurt at 6:10 a.m. local time; while the returning flight is scheduled at 2:15 p.m. from Frankfurt and arrive in Shenyang at 6:15 a.m.

"The new air route will play a positive role in strengthening economic and trade cooperation between China and Germany in the new era, promoting higher-level and higher-quality economic and trade cooperation between Liaoning and even the northeastern region of China and Germany," said Wang Hai, deputy general manager of the northern branch of China Southern Airlines.

The average seat occupancy rate for the inaugural round-trip flight reached 90 percent. Passengers include businessmen, students, workers and tourists, according to Wang.

Before the opening of the route, passengers from Liaoning traveling to Europe mainly transited through cities such as Beijing or Guangzhou. The 11-hour direct flight has reduced the journey time by over five hours.

Germany is a major source of foreign investment for Liaoning and an important trading partner. There are nearly 200 German companies settled in Liaoning.