AIR CHINA: Restarts flights between Australia and Beijing

According to ET, Air China is set to restart flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Beijing in February, initially 3 times per week, but moving to daily from 26 March. Expect more of China’s airlines to restart their services to Australia given the country has re-opened its borders as of January 2023.

Flights

The services will initially run on the following basis:

• Sydney to Beijing CA166: 3 February – Tuesday, Friday and Sunday – Boeing 777 with 36 lie-flat business beds and 15″ video screens, 356 Economy seats
• Melbourne to Beijing CA165: 1 February – Monday, Wednesday and Saturday – Airbus A330-300, which include 30 Business, and 16 Premium Economy recliners with 37″ pitch and 255 Economy seats

Price

Prices are not cheap at AU$14,656 one-way Melbourne to Beijing on 1 February, or (see above) AU$22,645 return in that first month.

2PAXfly Takeout

The big question is how this will impact other fares, mainly to Europe via Beijing or other Chinese destinations. Based on the current fares for the recommencement of the service – no impact, but expect that to change over time.