Air China Takes Delivery of Last Boeing 777-300ER in "Love China" Livery

WCARN
Air China took delivery of last Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a special livery of "Love China" on Friday morning, Beijing Time. Image by Boeing 
Air China and Boeing completed the delivery of Chinese flag carrier's 20th Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in Seattle on Friday morning, Beijing Time (GMT+8), which is the last of 20 Boeing 777-300ER Air China has on order.

The latest 777-300ER aircraft, registration B-2006, is painted in a special livery of "Love China", which is the fourth 777-300ER with a special livery following its "Smiling Faces", SkyTeam and "China-France 50th Anniversary" liveries.

It is learnt that the new 777-300ER in "Love China" livery is set to make its debut at Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) at 2:00 a.m. on Sep 28. Besides, the flag carrier's first Boeing 747-8I will join the fleet in early October, and it will receive another 7 747-8 aircraft by 2015.

The 777-300ER has become the backbone of Air China's long-haul international fleet. The carrier has deployed the airplanes for route expansion in Europe and North America since the delivery of its first 777-300ER in July 2011. Currently, the airline's all U.S. services are operated using the 777-300ER, an aircraft type favored by business travelers worldwide.
The Boeing 777-300ER is 19 percent lighter than its closest competitor, greatly reducing its fuel requirement. It produces 22 percent less carbon dioxide per seat and costs 20 percent less to operate per seat.
As of June 2014, Air China owns a fleet of 512 Airbus and Boeing aircraft and operates one of the youngest fleets in the world, with an average fleet age of 6.22 years. With the fleet expansion, the flag carrier will further optimize its fleet structure and improve its route network. According to the company planning, Air China will have 665 aircraft by the end of 2015 through introducing more fuel-efficient long-haul wide-body aircraft including Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB.

Another state-owned carrier China Eastern Airlines (MU) took delivery of its first of 20 777-300ERs on Sep. 25, marking it the third 777-300ER operator in mainland China following Air China and China Southern Airlines (CZ).