China Eastern moves to daily Sydney-Shanghai and Melbourne-Shanghai flights

China Eastern is stepping up to daily flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Shanghai in June.

The Shanghai-based airline's current schedule sees four flights per week from Melbourne and five from Sydney, but the move to a daily service is part of a push to attract more business travellers.

“From a business perspective you’re always looking for daily flights, rather than having to lay over in a city for 24 or 48 hours longer than you need to” the CEO of Sydney Airport, Russell Balding, told Australian Business Traveller.

Balding's south-of-the-border counterpart, Melbourne Airport CEO Chris Woodruff, notes that “with China as our number one long haul market, the new daily service confirms Melbourne as a premier destination for Chinese travellers.”

China Eastern's Melbourne-Shanghai flights will shift into a daily service as of June 20, with Sydney-Shanghai following on June 22nd.

The Melbourne-Shanghai service runs on a Boeing 767-300, while Sydney-Shanghai uses an Airbus A330-300. Both flights depart the Australian airport mid-morning and arrive into Shanghai mid-evening, with return flights running overnight.

And despite China Eastern belonging to the SkyTeam alliance, passengers can claim Qantas Frequent Flyer points and those perched in business class have entry into Qantas' business lounges at Sydney and Melbourne international airports.

David Flynn

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.