China Southern Airlines To Launch First International Freighter; New Shenzhen-Chicago Boeing 747-200 Service To Begin March 29.

Business Editors

GUANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2000

China Southern Airlines (NYSE:ZNH) (HKSE:1055), the largest airline in The People's Republic of China, will launch its first-ever international cargo service, offering dedicated Boeing 747-200 freighter service between Shenzhen (located near Hong Kong) and Chicago starting Wednesday, March 29.

China Southern Airlines' new Boeing 747-200 service, listed as CZ Flight 392, will depart Shenzhen to the United States every Friday, Wednesday and Monday evening. The flight departs Chicago, listed as CZ Flight 391, to China every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evening. The aircraft will make technical stops in Anchorage, Ala. and Sapporo, Japan but will not take or drop off cargo.

China Southern Airlines' new Shenzhen-Chicago service has developed from the recent bilateral agreement between the United States and The People's Republic of China, signed last year. Golden, Colo.-based Atlas Air will operate China Southern Airlines' new Boeing 747-200 cargo service under a long-term agreement that covers aircraft, crews, insurance and maintenance.

&uot;We are very encouraged that China is going to join the WTO in the near future, which will create new commercial cargo and freight business opportunities,&uot; said Su Liang, manager, International Air Cargo Project.

He added that China Southern Airlines' expects this new service to, &uot;properly balance the need for cargo services to/from the USA. We currently have four Boeing 777 round-trip flights to our Los Angeles gateway from Guangzhou and the number of passengers we carry limits our cargo capacity. As passengers on this important transpacific route continues to grow, it limits the amount of cargo we can carry.&uot;

China Southern Airlines' Boeing 747-200 cargo aircraft has a maximum revenue payload of 111,500 kilos, which includes 6,000 for tare (pallet weight). This gives a range performance of approximately 3,100 nautical miles.

For additional information about China Southern Airlines' new Boeing 747-200 cargo service between the United States and China, phone Su, in Guangzhou, at (8620) 8612-2103. In the United States, phone Yantang Huang at [phone].

Ranked No. 1 in passengers carried in China for the past 20 years, China Southern Airlines (www.cs-air.com/en) connects more than 80 cities around the globe. Major business and vacation destinations served in China include Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Guilin and Kunming as well as international service, including Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Bangkok, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Los Angeles; Osaka, Japan; and Singapore.