The first of 20 Boeing-737/800 passenger planes ordered by China Southern Airlines (CSA) from Boeing was delivered Monday in Wuhan.

Robert K. Laird, vice-president of Boeing's China business group, said the purchase of the 20 planes was the biggest order bya Chinese airlines for one model of aircraft.

The plane could fly from Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, to any other city on the Chinese mainland on a non-stop flight, he said.

Technicians with the airlines said other types of Boeing 737s, however, had to stop for oil changes before reaching their destinations.

The company plans to use the new 167-seat aircraft for its August 28 Wuhan-Beijing flight.

( People's Daily August 27, 2002)