Air China Poised to Launch New Chengdu - London Route

Air China Ltd. launched a new, non-stop service between Chengdu and London on 3 July, 2018. The non-stop route will carry Air China passengers from China's "Land of Abundance" to the beautiful banks of the river Thames.

According to the London Tourism Board, in 2017, Chinese tourists made over 130 million trips overseas, an increase of 7% from the previous year. Moreover, the UK is one of the destinations which has seen the strongest growth in Chinese visitors. The opening of this new route between Chengdu and London will develop tourism and promote educational and cultural exchange between China and the UK; it will also provide a convenient route to the UK for passengers in Southwest China.

In recent years, Air China has been expanding its international and domestic route networks, centered around its main hub in Beijing, and supported by its three regional bases in Chengdu, Shanghai and Shenzhen. As part of this effort, Air China has recently launched international routes between Chengdu and Frankfurt, Paris, Sydney and Bangkok. Given its geographical advantage, this year Air China will continue to develop Chengdu as a hub and expand its route coverage there, stepping up passenger throughput to European destinations.

Currently, Air China operates 82 routes out of Chengdu. These include 14 international/regional routes to destinations such as Frankfurt, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Rangoon, Kathmandu, Colombo, Hong Kong and Taipei, covering the continents of Asia, Europe and Oceania. As a member of the Star Alliance network, Air China also offers convenient routes to 1,330 airports in 192 countries.

Flight information:

The Chengdu - London route is operated under flight numbers CA423/4 on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays every week. Outbound flights depart from Chengdu at 15:45 and arrive in London at 20:00; return flights depart from London at 22:00 and arrive in Chengdu at 15:40 the following day (all times are local). The new route is operated by Airbus 330-200 aircraft. Business Class travellers enjoy lie-flat seats, while all booking classes enjoy personal in-flight entertainment, ensuring passengers can stretch out and travel in comfort.