Air China will start direct flights later this year between Melbourne and Beijing following an agreement between the Australian and Chinese governments to expand airlift between the two nations.
Flights will operate four times a week on Air China’s new Airbus A330-200 jets from June 1.
The carrier currently has a one-stop service from Melbourne to Beijing via Shanghai and also flies direct to Beijing and Shanghai from Sydney.
A new bilateral air service agreement means an extra 18% capacity can be added between gateway airports in the two countries – Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
The agreement has been hailed by tourism leaders in Australia.
"The agreement is evidence of the federal government’s commitment to ensuring tourism policy reform also encourages economic development," said Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond.
"This approach means reforms such as these are not just good for tourism, they are good for Australia."
"China is our most valuable tourism export market. This agreement, along with the launch of the recent pilot program for online visa applications by Chinese visitors means our tourism sector is well primed for 2015," added trade minister Andrew Robb.
