North American Routes Upgrade Starts with New Culinary Creations

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BEIJING, March 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Air China will upgrade its routes to North America this year in order to meet the increasing market demand and cement its presence in this region. The onboard food tasting for the routes to North America held on March 8 became the starting point of this endeavor. Dozens of newly created appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and hot dishes were presented at the food tasting.

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Air China invited comments from the gastronomic experts and passengers who attended the tasting. The new creations will make it onto the First Class/Business Class menus on Air China's routes from Beijing to Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco as well as onto Air China's 4^th route to America, Beijing-Houston, to be launched this July.

The new creations are based on the suggestions of food experts from nutritional perspectives. The menus feature both Chinese and western dishes, best for those who like tart, sugary and a bit spicy flavors, as well as carefully prepared desserts to round off a meal. The food preparation and delivery efficiency will also be maximized -- it will not take more than 45 minutes. And all the foods will be kept at temperatures of 0-5 degrees celsius to ensure their freshness.

Onboard meal service affects passengers' perception of an airline and is one of the key areas for overall service quality assessment of an airline. Air China's attempt to serve up newly created dishes will improve customer experience and the overall service quality on the carrier's routes to North America.

As part of its initiative to upgrade its routes to North America, Air China will also retrofit the cabin interior. The new cabin interior features such typical elements of Chinese culture as cloud, phoenix and motifs on ancient tiles, reflecting the ancient Chinese philosophical perception of the relationship between nature and man as well as Air China's understanding of people.

After being upgraded, Air China's New York route will be operated with B777-300ER, an aircraft type quite popular with business travelers, and be increased to 11 weekly flights. The carrier's Beijing-Los Angeles and Beijing-San Francisco routes will also be upgraded. And the Beijing-Houston service will be launched in July.

North America is Air China's second largest overseas market after Europe. Travelers from Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, India, Mongolia and Philippines can easily connect to flights to North American destinations via Beijing.

SOURCE Air China