New flights to Melbourne from China

Three China-based airlines have revealed plans to offer new flights to Melbourne before the end of 2010.Chris Woodruff, the chief executive officer of Melbourne airport, explained the additional flights will allow for direct flights to Beijing as well as boosting capacity.

“China Eastern will be increasing to daily Shanghai services from four flights per week and in December Air China will be increasing its services from Beijing and Shanghai,” said Mr Woodruff.

He added: “This follows an earlier announcement by China Southern that its flights from Guangzhou are increasing to daily services.”

Figures from the airport show that arrivals of Chinese passport holders increased by 20.4 per cent in the year ending September 2010 as demand for flights to Australia remains strong.

In the year ending June 2010, Melbourne Airport handled 4.91 million international passengers – 2.9 per cent more than in 2009, while the airport’s domestic passenger volumes increased by two per cent to 19.74 million.

Written by Anthony Nicholson.