SkyTeam alliance member China Southern will kick off flights between Sydney and Shenzhen next year as the only airline to offer a non-stop service between the two cities.
Located just across the border from Hong Kong and connected by rail, Shenzhen is a Chinese manufacturing hub and houses the corporate offices of many of China’s tech companies including well-known Huawei, along with China Merchants Bank.
Shenzhen also enjoys 'Special Economic Zone' status within China which provide tax incentives for foreign investors and tilts the city's focus towards producing export-ready products at competitive prices, with a new higher-speed rail service for easy access to Hong Kong planned in early 2018.
Using an Airbus A330-300 aircraft with first class, business class and economy, guests at the very front enjoy semi-private suites in a single-row cabin with just four passengers…
… while those in business class can still stretch out in fully-flat beds configured in a 2-2-2 arrangement – providing the middle pair with uninterrupted aisle access although those in the outer groups step over their seatmate’s legs or are stepped over themselves when in ‘bed mode’:
Commencing January 28 2016 and running as a seasonal service through March 31 2016, flight CZ3072 departs Sydney at 9:30am on Mondays and Thursdays to reach Shenzhen at 3:45pm that afternoon, with a 10am departure on Saturdays ahead of a 4:15pm arrival.
Returning on Wednesdays and Sundays, CZ3071 is wheels-up at 7:10pm to arrive in Sydney at 7:30am the following morning, while on Fridays that's nudged to an 8pm departure and an 8am arrival.
Business and first class passengers plus SkyTeam Elite Plus frequent flyers travelling with China Southern can relax in the SkyTeam Lounge at Sydney Airport and a China Southern lounge in Shenzhen before their return.
China Southern-owned subsidiary XiamenAir launched its own Sydney-Fuzhou flights in November and kicks off Sydney-Xiamen from December 6 2015: both non-stop routes which also aren’t serviced by another airline.
Also read: How to get a SkyTeam Elite Plus status match
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Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 780
Excellent.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
30 Sep 2015
Total posts 12
Hope this route goes better than when Hainan last flew it.
10 Dec 2015
Total posts 177
I'm pretty sure it'll get good loads. In fact, any Chinese carrier can fill any flight flying between China and Australia these days mainly due to massive outbound tourism demand fm China.
I'm also quite certain that this flight is @ least 90% geared toward low-yield tourists fm China. I mean if CZ has any real intention to target higher-yield biz traveler segment(including Australian expats in SZX) with this flight, it won't be twice a wk and certainaly won't be seasonal. It's also not targeted for tourists from Australia because Shenzhen has practically nothing to offer to foreign tourists. The city has always been planned purely for commerce & manufacturing when it was built from scratch only 30yrs ago.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Dec 2014
Total posts 284
China Southern is a pretty good carrier in comparison to the other Chinese carriers
10 Dec 2015
Total posts 177
<..a pretty good carrier in comparison to the other Chinese carriers>
You must be joking. I have flown with CZ for @ least 50 flights across China, quite a few times even in J or F cabin, over the past 10yrs. It's by far the worst among the China Big3 and clearly not even in the same league as HU especially in terms of customer experience/service and frontline staff attitude. In general, CZ cabin & ground teams are just unprofessional/clueless or simply don't care about their pax....I've always suspected this may be a function of CZ being the largest in China and often is the only carrier(i.e. monopoly) on its int'l routes...this new SYD-SZX route is another example.
U.S. Big3 are globally famous for their poor customer experience/service. My advice is to wait until you try CZ.....it'll offer you a brand new perspective prompting you to reconsider DL /UA/ AA as good carriers relative to CZ. Even the infamous FR(Ryanair) is half a notich above CZ due to much more efficient pax handling.
Avoid CZ whenever possible.
10 Sep 2012
Total posts 149
Meh, give me MU any day.
10 Dec 2015
Total posts 177
And I gave up on MU yrs ago.
By my experience, MU may be just a tad above CZ...@ best. Yrs ago and after poor experience on countless MU domestic flights(No choice, thx to a quasi-monopoly), I tried MU int'l flights for the 1st time to see if customer service would be more reasonable. On my KIX->PVG leg, I had the great <pleasure> to enjoy how MU handled my flight delay. To cut a long story short, my MU flight was delayed for a whopping 17hrs fm 16:00 to 09:00 nex day. MU staff @ KIX did not give us any explanation, info on the expected new ETD(Just asked pax to stay near the MU counter to check status every 1.5hrs which I did 6 times) nor advised pax about any overnite accommodation arrangement until 23:00. Shanghai is only 2hrs away fm Osaka by air and amazingly, other carriers operating this route on that same day did not hv any delay issue.
Trust me, HU is miles ahead of MU in terms of customer experience/service.
12 Jul 2018
Total posts 1
Hi -- could someone confirms me if the Flight to Sydney to Shenzhen has WIFI Internet facility or not ? This is for business class.
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