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China Eastern is boosting its Australian network with a new service from Sydney to Hangzhou and onwards to Beijing starting in November.
The three times a week offering will operate as a Beijing-Hangzhou-Sydney routing with Airbus A330 equipment.
China Eastern general manager for Oceania Kathy Zhang said the new flights complemented the Skyteam alliance member’s current Sydney-Nanjing-Beijing service and offered improved connections to the Chinese capital.
“China Eastern Airlines’ new route to Hangzhou is a great example of the growth of services between Sydney and China’s second-tier cities, boosting the local tourism industry and economy,” Zhang said in a statement.
Flight schedules show MU711 departing Beijing at 2000 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, arriving at Hangzhou two hours and 15 minutes later. After 90 minutes on the ground, the flight continues on to Sydney, arriving at 1300 the next day.
The reciprocal MU712 was due to depart Sydney as an overnight service to Hangzhou on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving at 0550 local time the next morning. The flight continues onto Beijing at 0750 with the scheduled arrival time 1010.
China Eastern’s Sydney-Nanjing-Beijing service, MU728, departs the NSW capital on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while the reciprocal MU727 runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Qantas alliance partner also flies twice daily from Sydney to its largest hub at Shanghai Pudong Airport.
It also planned to start a daily, year-round nonstop flight from Brisbane to Shanghai from December 16.
