China Southern Airlines launches Dhaka-Beijing flights

Dhaka : China Southern Airlines launched direct flights on Dhaka-Beijing route on July 15 to meet the growing travel demand between Bangladesh and China. The airline is operating twice weekly flights between Beijing Daxing International Airport and Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Mondays and Saturdays.

To celebrate, China Southern Airlines hosted a launch ceremony at a city hotel on July 1.

Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Muhammad Faruk Khan attended the ceremony as the chief guest. Yao Wen, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Mahbubul Alam, President of FBCCI, Xie Kangjia, General Manager of China Southern Airlines, Habib Ullah Dawn, Managing Director of the airline's GSA Amnestar Solutions Ltd and Lokman Hossain Miah, Executive Chairman of BIDA, among others, were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Faruk Khan, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, said, "China Southern Airlines' direct flights will strengthen trade and economic ties between Dhaka and Beijing. As China is a potential source market, we are planning to connect Cox's Bazar and Kunming in the future."

In his speech, Yao Wen, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, said, "This route will create more opportunities for greater collaboration and people-to-people connectivity. We encourage people of China and Bangladesh to travel and explore the opportunities."

Addressing the event, Xie Kangjia, General Manager, China Southern Airlines, said, "As the largest airline in Asia, we proudly operate over 3,000 daily flights, connecting passengers to more than 200 destinations across the globe. Last year, we flew more than 120,000 passengers to and from Dhaka, and in the first half of this year, the number is already close to 80,000."

The airline is operating Airbus 321neo with a seating capacity of 199 on Dhaka-Beijing route.

A promotional fare is available during the first month of operation, with one-way tickets from Dhaka to Beijing starting at BDT 21,339 and round-trip tickets starting at BDT 34,428, excluding taxes and fees.

With the launch of the new route, China Southern Airlines will have two routes between China and Bangladesh, offering a total of nine weekly flights.

This provides travellers with more options and convenience, allowing passengers from Dhaka to easily transfer through Guangzhou and Beijing to destinations in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Japan and South Korea.