China's first Boeing 787 delivered

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight lands at Baiyun International Airport in the south China city of Guangzhou on Sunday morning. China Southern Airlines marks the country's first airline to operate the flight. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUANGZHOU - A Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first of its kind to be delivered to China, landed at Baiyun International Airport in the south China city of Guangzhou on Sunday morning.

The 228-seat aircraft, operated by China Southern Airlines, will help improve the loading capacity on the company's international routes as well as the service quality, said Tan Wangeng, president of China Southern Airlines.

After 25 hours of certification flights to check the craft's airworthiness, it will perform flight tasks between Guangzhou and Beijing on June 6. In the future, it is expected to serve international routes from Guangzhou to Paris, Vancouver, London or Auckland.

With advanced engines and light composite materials, the aircraft is expected to consume 20 percent less fuel and release 20 percent less emissions than conventional models, said Tan.

So far, China Southern is the only airline operating the long-haul aircraft Boeing 787 and Airbus 380 models.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China presented Boeing with a Validation of Type Certification on May 23 after all operating Dreamliners were grounded in January following two incidents on Japanese jetliners related to overheating batteries.