Sichuan Airlines plans direct Melbourne-Chengdu flights
By John Walton, September 21 2012
Yet another Chinese airline is starting direct flights to Australia, with Melbourne seeing thrice-weekly flights to Chengdu with Sichuan Airlines.
Chengdu, a city with 14 million people in its urban area, lies to the northwest of Chongqing in western China. It's one of "China's 13 megalopolises" according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, and one of the Chinese Government's key growth areas.
Sichuan Airlines is a medium-sized airline in Chinese terms -- not one of the Big Four Chinese airlines, but it's affiliated with and partly owned by China Southern, the Guangzhou-based airline that flies extensively to Australia and offers the Canton Route to Europe.
Melbourne-Chengdu flights are planned to run three times a week, using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, with angled lie-flat seats in business class.
No dates have yet been announced for the route, with a Melbourne Airport spokesperson telling Australian Business Traveller that all the arrangements are "still subject to regulatory approval." Usually, that's a rubber-stamp process.
Sichuan Airlines could also be angling for a piece of the Kangaroo Route pie for flights to Europe, with flights to Amsterdam, London, Vienna and Paris mooted in a report from the Centre for Aviation last year.
Suggested names for the Australia-Chengdu-Europe route to rival the Kangaroo, Falcon and Canton routes in a comment below...
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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.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 May 2011
Total posts 362
Wouldn't fly a Chinese airline if you paid me
21 Sep 2012
Total posts 4
How about the "Hot Pot Route"?
21 Sep 2012
Total posts 3
How about the Panda Route? Being the home of the Panda.
10 Mar 2011
Total posts 526
Now this route has success written all over it.... Not.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 780
You're looking at it from the wrong angle. They're coming from an area with more than half the population of Australia. They can find 2~300 people per flight to visit Melbourne without trying too hard. Add direct export and import freight - they've got a winner. Plus they'll sucker a few cheapskates over here to try them out.
10 Apr 2012
Total posts 59
Should do well to Europe for those of us too scared to fly through Dubai or Abu Dhabi.Here's one Panda Bear Route.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Apr 2011
Total posts 106
@aklrunway Not even Cathay Pacific?
01 Feb 2012
Total posts 371
CX is not a Chinese airline. Not even close.
Hong Kong was where I was born. China is across the border where people speak a different language and have a different culture :)
05 Jun 2012
Total posts 31
Hot numbing soup route?
Or perhaps the more catchy but less advertising friendly "burn your face off" route. Refering to the inflight meals rather than the airline's safety record, of course!
In any case, good to see another option for travelers to China, especially for Melbournites such as myself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is something that Qantas and Virgin might want to look into.......
Qantas
10 Sep 2011
Total posts 162
Will there be sufficient WC for passengers who easily suffer from the "Johnny Cash Effect" from food that is too spicy. A supply of clove oil for topical relief?
I love the taste of spicy food - doesn't mean my body does though:)
03 Jan 2011
Total posts 665
I would love the "belly pork over rice" route, and I maintain that Chinese food is one of the cuisines that stands up best to the rigours of cooking/packaging/reheating/serving airline food.
Qantas
10 Sep 2011
Total posts 162
More serious note - with all these Sky Team allied airlines flying to Australia from the PRC, what's the bet that if Virgin Oz does pick an alliance, it will be SkyTeam over Star?
Thai Airways International - Royal Orchid Plus
27 Nov 2012
Total posts 1
This will be great. I've flown Sichuan domestically in China they are a good airline better than CS and as I travel to Chengdu yearly for pleasure not business family it will save me a small fortune. When does this look like happening as they have been speaking about it for a gew years now.
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