Last year, a new one-stop flight took off from Shanghai. It makes the trek all the way to South America, encompassing 29 hours and becoming the world’s longest one-stop flight. This will be the first time that the SkyTeam member, China Eastern Airlines has served a destination in South America, and will remain the only current Chinese carrier to do so.

China Eastern will operate the service thanks to gaining fifth freedom rights (the right to fly between two foreign countries on a journey originating or ending in an airline’s own country), making the stop in Auckland, New Zealand en route. Passengers on board the service will be able to get off and stretch their legs at Auckland Airport while the aircraft is refueled, cleaned, and any quick-fix maintenance required is carried out. This will give passengers the chance to stretch their legs at New Zealand’s busiest airport and primary international gateway.

China Eastern To Buenos Aires

Credit: Shutterstock

The twice-weekly service, which debuted in December, is flown with the carrier’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The aircraft, which is equipped with first, business, and economy, departs from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) in the early hours of Monday and Thursday, transporting passengers via Auckland International Airport (AKL), before its final leg across the South Pacific Ocean, to Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE). The total flight time, including stops, equates to around 29 hours from start to finish.

China Eastern’s new service, encompassing approximately 10,627 nautical miles (19,861 km) in each direction, will now hold the title of the world’s longest one-stop route and the longest flight overall. China Eastern will steal this title currently held by Aircalin, the French carrier that serves the French overseas territory in the southwest Pacific Ocean, New Caledonia, with its one-stop service between Nouméa La Tontouta International Airport (NOU) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).

The China Eastern service is approximately 12% longer than Aircalin’s long-haul foray. What makes this new route exciting is not just the opportunities for the China-Argentina market, but also those looking for an alternative way to travel from Oceania to South America. With fifth-freedom rights between Auckland and Buenos Aires, customers can board from Auckland to fly to Argentina directly. The only other airline to serve South America from New Zealand is LATAM, with nonstop service from Auckland to Santiago (SCL), Chile.

What To Expect Onboard

Credit: China Eastern

China Eastern deploys its Boeing 777-300ERs on this unique route, which is configured in three classes. Per the carrier’s website, six first class seats are located in rows 1-2 at the front of the aircraft, which can transform into a fully flat 180-degree bed, perfect for those trying to catch up on sleep onboard. First class guests enjoy up to 26.5 inches (67 centimeters) of seat width.

Rows 6-20 provide 52 Business Class seats, each with a fully flat bed. The seat pitch is close to 43 inches (109 centimeters), and the seat width is 20.33 inches (51 centimeters). Economy class, in rows 31-74, provides a total of 258 seats, with a seat pitch of 32 inches (81 centimeters) and a seat width of 17.05 inches (43 centimeters).

The cabin configuration is a 1-2-1 for first and business class passengers, while the economy cabin is obviously more condensed with a 3-4-3 configuration. All passengers enjoy complimentary meals, seatback entertainment screens, carry-on bags up to 17 pounds (8kg), and a checked baggage allowance of one piece at 50 pounds (23 kg).

Related

Up To 29 Hours: Introducing The World’s New Longest 1-Stop Marathon Route

It surpasses what was number one by a whopping 3h 30m.

Digging Into The Flight Data

Credit: GCMap

China Eastern operates the world’s longest one-stop route on Mondays and Thursdays from Shanghai, leaving Pudong International Airport (PVG) in the early hours of 2:00 am. The service will operate with a block time of 11 hours and 30 minutes, arriving in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, at 6:30 pm.

Passengers both holding an onward ticket and those boarding/disembarking in Auckland will have two hours on the ground to allow for refueling and cleaning before resuming service for its second leg to Buenos Aires. The onward service will depart from Auckland at either 8:30 pm (Mondays) or 8:55 pm (Thursdays) for the 12-hour flight to Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), with scheduled arrival times of 4:30 pm or 4:55 pm respectively.

Those on the return flight will depart from EZE at 2:00 am on Tuesdays and Fridays for the nearly 14-hour, 40-minute westbound service, with a scheduled arrival time in Auckland at 8:40 am the following morning. The aircraft will remain on the ground for two hours before taking off again at 10:40 am for the daytime service to Shanghai, touching down after 12 hours, 25 minutes in the air.

Why Has China Eastern Decided to Fly To Argentina?

Credit: Shutterstock

As analyzed by Simple Flying, the booking data for 2024 showed that just 19,000 total round-trip passengers flew between Shanghai and Buenos Aires. Overall, the China-Argentina market attracts close to 74,000 round-trip passengers each year, fueled by an estimated 350,000 Chinese diaspora that reside in Argentina. Many early Chinese immigrants relocated to Argentina in the 19th century, in a bid for better economic opportunities and for job prospects in agriculture in the country’s northern regions (as noted by the VAMOS Academy Spanish School).

China Eastern is looking to capture this market by first offering the only Chinese carrier to service Argentina, but also by providing an easy one (or two if beyond Shanghai) itinerary from EZE. While the itinerary may be less desirable than other Middle Eastern, African, or European itineraries, the carrier is likely to offer low fares to stimulate interest.

Outbound tourists from Argentina may also look to make the most of the 30-day visa-free travel to China. On top of all of this, the carrier will likely scoop up any leftover interest from passengers departing Auckland, wider New Zealand, and the South Pacific, for those looking for direct flights to the Argentinian capital, alongside additional capacity on the Auckland to Shanghai route.

Related

China Eastern Boosts Shanghai To London Flights As European Airlines Drop Out Of China

Virgin Atlantic will completely exit China this winter, while British Airways is axing its Beijing route, leaving only Shanghai.

China Eastern Airlines In A Nutshell

Credit: Shutterstock

China Eastern is one of the three major Chinese carriers (alongside Air China and China Southern). The airline has main hubs at Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA), Kunming (KMG), and Xi’an (XIY), with a fleet of more than 660 aircraft. The airline is part of SkyTeam, having joined as the 14th member in June 2011. This means the carrier has extensive codeshare agreements with most SkyTeam airlines, including Air France, Delta, Kenya Airways, Korean Air, Saudia, Vietnam Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic, among other airlines.

The Chinese government holds a majority shareholding in the carrier (around 61%), with other shares held publicly. Subsidiaries of the carrier include China Cargo Airlines, China Eastern Yunnan Airlines, China United Airlines, and Shanghai Airlines. US carrier, Delta Air Lines, owns a small share of 3.55% stake in the carrier, while China Eastern owns a 4.58% stake in Air France-KLM. Previously, a strategic partnership between Qantas and China Eastern saw the short-lived carrier Jetstar Hong Kong take flight in 2012, before ceasing operations in 2015.

With a large fleet of both Airbus and Boeing narrow and widebody airplanes according to ch-aviation, China Eastern remains the world’s largest operator of the Airbus A330-200 (30) and the second-largest operator of the A320neo (121 with 23 more on order). The airline is also an operator of the Chinese manufacturer Comac‘s C909 (41) and C919 (14) jets, of which it was the launch customer for the latter. It plans to operate 106 C919s and 35 C909s once all aircraft are delivered.

Historic Services Between New Zealand & South America

Credit: Shutterstock

China Eastern won’t be the first, and likely not the last, to dip its toe into the Oceania to South America market. Kiwi carrier Air New Zealand previously flew direct flights between Auckland and Buenos Aires. The service operated multiple times a week to EZE, and was shelved during the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains absent from the carrier’s network, with no immediate plans to resume the route.

The Argentine flag carrier, Aerolíneas Argentinas, previously also flew the city pair, having been one of the carriers’ first transpolar flights. Back in the 1990s, it would fly Buenos Aires – Auckland – Hong Kong with a Boeing 747 aircraft. Fast-forward to 2012, and the carrier operated a Buenos Aires – Auckland – Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport service. However, this was terminated in July 2012, as part of a wider restructuring for the airline.

Across the ditch, Qantas Airways had also tried its luck with Buenos Aires, having flown the route direct from Sydney up until 2012. The carrier opted in favor of changing its South American gateway to Santiago, a route that the carrier still operates today. Alternatively, LATAM Chile also operates nonstop service from Auckland, Melbourne, and Sydney year-round to SCL.