Direct flight from Chengdu to Auckland to be launched in June

Sichuan Airlines announced earlier this month that it will open a non-stop flight linking Chengdu, Sichuan province, and Auckland, New Zealand. This route will operate three times a week and be served by A330 aircraft.

Flying time is around 13 hours, departing from Auckland at 8:30 pm and arriving in Chengdu at 6:00 am the next day, or leaving Chengdu at 1:55 am and landing in Auckland at 6:45 pm.

The airline has been operating safely for nearly 28 years since its establishment. It has the largest Airbus fleet in China, with more than 120 planes covering 240 flight routes.

Its route network, providing flight services to 23 million passengers annually, links Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America.

The company has been named the best airline on the Chinese mainland for three consecutive years. Its food, rated as the best in-flight meal on the Chinese mainland, has received passengers' recognition.

Headquartered in Chengdu, the first city in central and western China to adopt the policy of 72-hour transit visa exemption for foreigners, Sichuan Airlines operates a dense route network in the region and provides easy access to major cities and tourist destinations throughout China.

Sichuan is the home of giant pandas in China, and tops other provinces in central and western China in terms of the number of natural and cultural heritage sites. Its capital, Chengdu, has a history of more than 3,000 years and was crowned as the best tourist destination in China by the World Tourism Organization and the China National Tourism Administration. It is the first "Capital of the World's Gourmet Food" in Asia rated by UNESCO.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/22/2017 page10)