BEIJING -- China Southern Airlines will add a wide-body Boeing 777 plane to its route between Urumqi and Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, a company spokesman said on Monday.

The plane, equipped with 18 first-class seats and to be launched on Sept 12, can carry 373 passengers, the spokesman said.

The addition aims to meet the increasing outbound travel demand, the spokesman said.

China Southern Airlines is currently the only Chinese air carrier flying between Urumqi and Tashkent.

Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in northwest China while Tashkent is the second largest city in Central Asia.