OCTOBER 26TH, 2015

Air China Starts Chengdu-Osaka and Chengdu-Tokyo Services

BEIJING, Oct. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Air China started Chengdu-Osaka and Chengdu-Tokyo nonstop services respectively on October 25, 2015 and October 26, 2015. As upgrades to the original Chengdu-Shanghai-Osaka and Chengdu-Beijing-Tokyo flights, the two nonstop services will spare passengers between Chengdu and other parts of southwestern China and Japan the trouble of having to transfer via Beijing or Shanghai.

Based on the statistics released in July by Japan National Tourism Organization, Mainland China has become the largest source market of travelers to Japan. While domestic and international airlines are entering the China-Japan markets, Air China has got around to cementing its footprint by utilizing the synergies created by its position as the largest carrier at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and the airport’s position as the carrier’s regional hub. According to a source from Air China, Japan is a market that Air China is quite committed to. Currently, Air China operates 20 routes from Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai and Tianjin to 9 Japanese cities including Okinawa, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Tokyo, Hakodate, Nagoya, Sendai and Sapporo.

In 2015, Air China is continuing to increase its capacity in its regional hub in Chengdu and make tangible moves to cement its presence in China’s southwest region. In its 2015 Winter/Spring Schedule, the carrier offers from its hub in Chengdu over 110 air links to a total of 71 cities, including 13 international and regional cities, of which 11 like Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul and Singapore are served by nonstop flights. It will also commence Chengdu-Paris service by the end of year. Air China has the ambition to make Chengdu a powerful hub in China and the largest hub in southwest China.

About the flights

The Chengdu-Osaka flights, CA461/462, are operated three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The outbound flight departs from Chengdu at 11:50 and arrives in Osaka at 17:00. The return flight departs from Osaka at 18:00 and arrives in Chengdu at 22:05.

The Chengdu-Tokyo flights, CA459/460, are operated four times a week. The outbound flight departs from Chengdu at 15:30 and arrives in Tokyo at 21:00 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday every week. The return flight departs from Tokyo at 08:50 and arrives in Chengdu at 13:50 on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday every week.