The start of the seasonal trial service between Shanghai and Perth has launched.

The first ever direct flight connecting Perth, Western Australia to one of the world’s biggest cities Shanghai has landed at Perth Airport this morning.

Twitter: “The historic first China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Perth has just landed, Welcome to WA” @MarkMcGowanMP

China Eastern Airlines is one of the biggest airlines in the world and has never flown direct to Perth until now.

The start of this seasonal trial until February 17, 2020, marks the peak of the Chinese New Year season, with an average load factor of over 80 percent on the flights across the five weeks.

A direct connection to one of the world’s biggest cities is a top priority for WA tourism as Premier Mark McGowan states “direct flights from key markets such as China are critical to growing the State’s tourism industry, create jobs and boost our economy so it is a great pleasure to welcome the first ever flight from Shanghai to Perth.”

The significance of the trial flights is further supported by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia, “Shanghai has a population of more than 26 million people, which is more than the number of people who live in Australia.

Ongoing direct flights between Shanghai and Perth would open up a massive new visitor market and the interest in the trial flights has been encouraging.”  

China Eastern flight MU265 will operate each Monday, Wednesday and Friday until February 17, 2020 on Airbus A330s offering 3,480 seats between Perth and Shanghai with economy airfares on offer from $698 return.

This will hopefully be the start of more on-going direct flight connections from Perth Airport to be established in 2020.

See Also: Top Travel Destinations For 2020

The State Government will work with China Eastern to secure the route as a regular service.

Tourism WA is investing an additional $1 million into marketing campaigns, and will work with Tourism Australia, China Eastern and travel agents to promote WA as a desirable holiday destination in China as well as generate ticket sales.

“We want this trial service to become a permanent connection between the two cities and we are in ongoing talks with China Eastern Airlines to make this become a reality.” Mark McGowan.

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Feature image: Facebook – China Eastern Airlines