THE first direct flight linking Western Australia and Shanghai touched down at Perth Airport yesterday morning.
The inaugural China Eastern flight from Shanghai Pudong Int’l Airport to Perth marked the beginning of a seasonal trial service and China Eastern Airlines’ first direct flight to Perth.
It will operate thrice weekly (Mon, Wed & Fri) until 17 Feb and has been timed with the peak of the Chinese New Year season, with an average load factor of over 80% across the five weeks and a number of flights nearly at 100% capacity.
The service utilises Airbus A330 aircraft, offering 3,480 seats between Perth and Shanghai across the trial with Economy airfares leading in at $698 return.
Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown said the trial non-stop service between Shanghai and Perth gave Western Australians an opportunity to experience Chinese New Year in Shanghai and would hopefully result in a year-round service for WA.
“If the trial is successful and leads to the introduction of three weekly services year-round, it could mean an additional $40m in tourism spend for the WA economy,” Brown said.
“If we can continue to grow the number of visitors to WA, the flow-on benefits for tourism operators, hotels, hospitality and retail outlets could be enormous.”
Prior to the flight, WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia led a delegation in Shanghai, where he presented China Eastern Airlines with an offer for a regular ongoing direct service to Perth (TD 13 Jan) – more on page four.
The post Shanghai to Perth lands appeared first on Travel Daily.
Source: traveldaily