China Southern Airlines, the nation's largest carrier by fleet size, on Monday launched a new service from the southern city of Guangzhou to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The new Boeing 777B service, flight number CZ383, departs Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from Guangzhou at 8:10 p.m. Beijing Time, arriving in Dubai the next day at 01:10 a.m. local time.

The return flight, CZ384, leaves Dubai at 2:50 a.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and reaches Guangzhou at 2:50 p.m. Beijing Time, the company said.

It is the second international flight launched by China Southern this year, following the opening of the Guangzhou-Katmandu service on Feb. 5.

China Southern will open eight other direct international services this year, all departing from Guangzhou. The destinations will include Rangoon, Delhi, Sendai and Sapporo.

As a result, the company's international flights from Guangzhou will be expanded from 136 per week to 182, it said.

Source: Xinhua