China Eastern Airlines Set To Launch World’s Longest Direct Flight

China Eastern Airlines is promoting tickets for what will develop into the world’s longest direct flight, stretching roughly 12,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. According to Business Insider, the journey will join Shanghai, China, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a scheduled flight time of 29 hours.

Set to start operations in December 2025, the Boeing 777-300ER plane chosen for this route will make a two-hour refueling stop in Auckland, New Zealand. However, passengers will stay onboard during this technical halt, sustaining its classification as a “direct flight” despite the stopover

China Eastern Route And Schedule Details

The flight, designated as China Eastern Flight 746 on the return leg from Buenos Aires to Shanghai, will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays. Business Traveler experiences that outbound Flight 745 from Shanghai to Buenos Aires will operate on Mondays and Thursdays, beginning December 4, with a barely shorter length of roughly 25.5 hours due to favorable prevailing winds.

Travelers reserving this journey ought to put together for both the prolonged length and premium pricing. One-way financial system tickets for flights in December are being marketed on China Eastern’s web site for between $1,538 and $2,270. Business class tickets, which offer the appreciable benefit of lie-flat beds during the practically day-and-a-half journey, start at roughly $5,000.

Regional Significance And Diplomatic Connections

China Eastern’s new route marks the airline’s first service to South America via the southern hemisphere, creating a more direct connection by bypassing conventional stopovers in the U.S. or Europe, according to the South China Morning Post. Per Business Traveler, the airline might also be capitalizing on the chance to set up a fifth freedom hyperlink between Buenos Aires and Auckland, a route that has traditionally demonstrated demand.

Auckland Airport CEO Carrie Hurihanganui highlighted the advantages of the new service: “This new service will reintroduce a direct flight connection between New Zealand and Argentina, enhancing not only tourism, trade and international education, but providing another link home for the 40,000 South Americans who live in New Zealand.”

The post China Eastern Airlines Set To Launch World’s Longest Direct Flight appeared first on Travel Noire.