China Southern starts direct Brisbane-Beijing flights

Brisbane and Beijing will be linked by direct flights when China Southern Airlines connects the Chinese and Queensland capitals next month.

The new flights begin on 30 October, and will run four times weekly. But don't be confused by thinking that "direct" means "nonstop". The route is an extension of the existing Brisbane-Guangzhou flights, which means that frequencies between Brisbane and Guangzhou will also increase.

But direct flights -- with the same flight number -- are an improvement because the layover in Guangzhou is reduced to one hour forty minutes China-bound and one hour and a quarter on the return journey to Australia.

And if one leg of your journey is delayed, you won't miss the other since you'll be on the same plane.

Flight CZ382 dparts Brisbane at 1115, arriving in Guangzhou at 1820. The same plane continues on to Beijing at 2000, arriving at 2310 -- perfect timing to miss Beijing's infamous rush hour traffic.

Return light CZ381 leaves Beijing at 1730, arriving in Guangzhou at 2045. It then departs at 2200 and arrives in Brisbane at 0855 the following day.

Airbus A330-300 aircraft will be used on the route, with 36 lie-flat business class seats at the front of the plane in a 2-2-2 configuration.

You'll get this business class all the way through to Beijing, which is another improvement over connecting flights.
Mach Reems

At the back, you'll find Economy class in the usual 2-4-2 layout.

China Southern is the world's fourth largest airline, and the biggest carrier in Asia. It's a member of the SkyTeam alliance, which means that Australian business travellers won't be able to top up their Qantas Frequent Flyer or Virgin Australia Velocity points balances on its flights.

Flights between Brisbane and the airline's Guangzhou hub will also be increased, from three to four a week.

There has, as yet, been no news about China Southern's planned Perth-Guangzhou flights, which had also been mooted as starting in October.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.