China Southern's Sydney-London 'Canton Route' daily from October
By David Flynn, July 17 2012
China Southern will boost its Sydney-London 'Canton Route' to daily flights from October 28.
The uptick to daily frequency for the service, which debuted in June as a three-times-weekly route, will help China Southern continue to win over business travellers in this twist on the traditional Kangaroo Route.
China Southern's Canton Route is flown on Airbus A330s with the airline's new first and business class seats installed in the pointy end.
In business class you'll find a 1.9m angled-flat bed in a 2-2-2 arrangement with 64 inch pitch, 15 inch video screens and up to 40 kilos of checked luggage.
First class class is a more spacious 1-2-1 arrangement with each passenger ensconced in a cubicle-style layout.
China Southern already runs double daily flights between Sydney-Guangzhou and Melbourne-Guangzhou, with four flights per week from Brisbane and three from Perth.
Flights will depart Guangzhou at 9.30am for a 3pm arrival at Heathrow, with the return leg out of London at 5pm reaching Guangzhou at 1pm the following day.
Guangzhou is just over 100 km from Hong Kong, and like the Kangaroo Route's Singapore stop-over Guangzhou is a key business class destination in its own right. And as China's second-busiest airport it has extensive connections to other Chinese cities.
China Southern’s Canton Route fares for Sydney-London start at $1,815 return in economy class and $5,810 return in business class.
And as China Southern is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, travellers can earn and burn frequent flyer miles across the SkyTeam network -- although we're yet to see an Australian-based SkyTeam member airline.
For more details, visit flychinasouthern.com or call China Southern’s national reservations line on 1300 889 628.
Need a primer on China's 'big four' airlines? Read on...
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
British Airways - Executive Club
07 Jun 2012
Total posts 18
In my view the timetable is disadvantageous: arriving at Heathrow at 3 pm means long queues for passport control, more if need to go to central London you will incur during rush hour, whichever transport you'll choose the get there. Remember also you have just got off a 24 hours plane from the other side of the world. The return flight departing at 5 pm means you need to be at the airport in time to pass the security. To be sure you won't miss the flight you have to spend your entire afternoon as preparation for flight. For me the best choice is still BA/QF which from London depart late in the evening and arrive early in the morning when airports are less crowded. Saving time for me is essential and I can't afford to waste it stuck in the traffic jam or in a queue
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 785
Excellent observation.
21 Jul 2012
Total posts 128
If anything, I find European airports busier in the morning because of all the incoming North American flights.
10 Jun 2011
Total posts 56
Agree with the return scheduling ex London too early for no advantage, plus the fact its an 8 hour connection in Guangzhou which I dont think many business travellers will accept. You also have the downside of using a sub standard hub airport, although the new First and Businss lounges should improve that
Its about personal choice and schedule, but the overnight East Coast Australia to Europe flights with afternoon arrivals in Europe are very popular flight choices for a lot of business travellers, giving them a full working day in Australia before flying sleeping overnight up to Asia or the Middle East arriving into Europe late afternoon allowing either to connect on or giving a good nights sleep and adjusting before working the next morning.
Whether you arrive at the real peak 0500 - 1000 period or the much quieter 3pm period for long haul flights, you hit central London whether by train or cab at rush hour - its never a nice experience
China Southern are taking very active steps to win over western travellers and they have the backing and investment to do it, but they have a long way to go before the becoming the airline of choice
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