CHINA SOUTHERN: Airline returns to Adelaide 12 December 2024

Adelaide gets its first direct flight to mainland China since the advent of the pandemic. China Southern Airlines will commence flying between Guangzhou and Adelaide from Thursday, 12 December 2024.

There will be three 787 Dreamliner flights per week from Guangzhou on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Flights from Adelaide will leave on Thursday Saturday and Monday.

• CZ664 departs Adelaide 11:30 am, arrives Guangzhou 6:05 pm same day (9 hr 5″)
• CZ663 departs Guangzhou 10:10 pm, arrives Adelaide 9:55 am + 1 day (9 hr 15″)

Prices

The direct route attracts a premium, so expect to pay around AU$2,140 in Economy and ~AU$6,500 in Business Class. Other one stop routes can be as low as AU$5,000 in Business Class (Malaysia), and under AU$2,000 in Economy Class, although expect to spend a lot more time getting there.

Reception

The new flights have been greeted warmly by the South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas, after the frostier relations with China during the previous Scott Morrison-led Coalition government federally.

“Whether it be the lifting of tariffs, whether it be the increased trade, whether it be Chinese students returning to our universities – this is critical for our prosperity as a state but also our positioning as being a serious economy with a strong growth trajectory in front of us.”

South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas

Canton Route

This development also adds some options for Adelaideians to head onwards from China to other areas of Asia or Europe and the United Kingdom using the ‘Canton’ route. Canton is the colonial name formerly used by the British and Europeans for the port city.

Instead of using other Asian capitals like Singapore, Bangkok, or Hong Kong as a transit point, it is possible to use Guangzhou as your stopover on the way to Europe and Britain.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is a great sign of recovery of the Chinese airlines, and trading relationships with Australia.

Adelaide is a secondary market when compared to the Eastern seaboard capital cities, and arguably with Perth in the west. Having international airlines returning to the Adelaide market is fantastic. China Southern joins Emirates (from October 28) Qatar and Singapore Airlines in servicing the Adelaide international travel market. Qantas does not fly any international routes out of Adelaide, although its low-cost venture Jetstar does have flights to Bali.