Air China receives its first Boeing 777-300ER on July 21, 2011

Air China, the country's biggest international carrier, received its first Boeing 777-300ER Thursday afternoon, which is also the first aircraft of this model for mainland China.

Air China will introduce 19 more Boeing 777-300ERs in the future, the company's vice president He Li said at the reception ceremony in Beijing.

The first aircraft will fly on routes between Beijing and Guangzhou, and Shanghai and Shenzhen, he said.

The second will be used on routes between Beijing and Frankfurt, and London and Paris, and will replace Boeing 747-400 planes currently used between China and North America, he said, without saying when the company will receive its second Boeing 777-300ER.

Air China will increase the proportion of wide-body aircraft in its flight team in the next five years, he added.