One of the lesser-known (because it arrives and departs at night), but still quite important airlines at LAX is Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, which flies to and from Los Angeles once daily with the Boeing 777-300ER. Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, CZ served LAX with the A380-800, but the type’s retirement has led to the 777-300ER being featured on the route year-round, whereas pre-Pandemic it had largely operated outside of peak travel seasons. While the Kapok-tailed A380s are missed by planespotters, the 777-300ERs are still a fun sight to see and also quite enjoyable to fly on.
Server: Solo
Airline: China Southern Airlines
Origin: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Destination: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou, China (CAN)
Flight Number: CZ328
Route: KLAX-ZGGG
Seat: 10K (Business)
Time En Route: 15 Hours 34 Minutes
In the boarding area of Gate 157 at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. We’ve been spending the evening watching traffic come and go from the TBIT and Terminal 4. Our aircraft for our roughly 15 and a half-hour trip to Guangzhou is 1 of China Southern Airlines’s 15 361-seat 777-300ERs.
Finishing up a single-engine taxi to Runway 25R. We’re in 1 of our aircraft’s 28 Stelia Solstys-based business class seats. While not the most private option on the market, the seat is comfortable and has a pleasing light blue color with light wood accents. Storage space could be a little more substantial, though.
Heavy takeoff from LAX shortly before midnight. The GE90 roar tonight is absolutely fantastic!
Leveled off at our rather low cruising altitude of 28,000 feet. We’re going to be settling in for some sleep in the next few minutes. Should be easy enough, since our seat converts into a pretty spacious lie-flat bed.
After waking up somewhere north of the Aleutians, we’re served a meal of beef fillet with gnocchi. The presentation is some of the best we’ve seen, with each component seemingly being cooked separately instead of the mishmash that plagues many airlines, even in business class, although the meat was a bit too much on the well-done side for our liking.
Waking up again after grabbing some more sleep as we reach Shanghai. The bedding was decently comfortable and we were able to sleep without interruption. Service has been top-notch, too. CZ’s biggest issue is that it happens to be located in the Pearl River Delta, an area that has very good high-speed rail connectivity, making getting to the coast by land quite easy, meaning that a dair amount of travelers to the area simply fly into Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific and then take the train to Guangzhou. Coupled with China Southern Airlines having a much larger fleet than its Hong Kong-based rival and being unable to allocate as much money to cabin design as the latter, this means that the airline is fighting an uphill battle to be the premier way of traveling to the pearl of the Pear River Delta.
Descending at dawn over northern Guangdong Province. Watching the Sun come up over the hills over Southeast China is absolutely breathtaking.
Landing at CAN on Runway 02R. In the background, lit up by the Sun, is the under-construction Terminal 3 and the tower for handling operations on the new runway north of it.
Taxiing across Runway 20R/02L to Terminal 2. Looking at the horizon, we can see the shift from where the Sun’s light has reached to where it has yet to touch. Pretty surreal to see, especially after spending almost 2/3rds of a day in near-complete darkness outside the cabin.
Disembarked from our aircraft at Gate 166. Ground crews are swarming around the jet, attaching fuel lines, driving baggage loaders, checking tire pressure, and doing everything necessary to make sure B-7588 is ready for her next flight, a comparatively short one up to Beijing as CZ3099. Just goes to show the small army that’s required to keep aircraft moving smoothly at a major airport, particularly for a widebody aircraft. As for our flight, China Southern’s 777-300ER business class, while not the most technologically advanced, is still an excellent choice for flying to Guangzhou. The seats are comfortable, the food and amenities better, and the service…where to begin? We don’t thinks words alone can convey the sense of amazement at how accommodating and friendly our cabin crew on this flight was. Easily in the top 10 flights for cabin service. Can’t wait for our next trip on CZ!