EXECUTIVES travelling to Los Angeles now have the option of a new direct service from Delta Air Lines.
The service, launched last Wednesday, uses a specially configured McDonnell Douglas MD-11 which, the airline claims, offers the most spacious seating arrangement available on the trans-Pacific route.
''We have only 16 seats in first class, 53 in business class and 171 in economy class. On most MD-11s, the total number of seats is close to 300, while ours have only 240, so seat pitch is wider and passengers can enjoy more space,'' said Delta's general manager Hongkong, Mr K. K. Wai.
Delta is the only carrier flying the MD-11 on the Hongkong to Los Angeles route, and its fleet has an average age of less than one year, which, according to Mr Wai, makes the aircraft the youngest flying across the Pacific.
The service will use MD-11s exclusively. Mr Wai claimed that the aircraft's new technology would reduce travel time on the 7,249-mile flight by more than two hours in each direction.
Previously, Delta flew to Los Angeles via Anchorage, but it now competes with Cathay Pacific and United in providing a direct service.
''A novel selling point of our service is that we fly directly to our own terminal at Oasis Number 5, which provides exclusive customs and immigration clearance for our international arrival passengers.