Cathay Pacific and sister airline Dragonair are now offering frequent flights from Australia to China.
Cathay Pacific currently offers more than 70 flights a week from Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide and Perth) to Hong Kong with good connections onto Shanghai and Beijing, while Dragonair also flies into these two cities along with 13 other mainland China destinations – Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Kunming, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Sanya, Wuhan, Xiamen and codeshare to Dalian and Tianjin.
Plus, nusiness travellers who have work to do in both Hong Kong and mainland China can stop off in Hong Kong en route on the one ticket.
According to Richiko Olrichs, marketing communications manager, Cathay Pacific Australia, there are other benefits for passengers flying with the airline to China.
“Passengers can fly into one Chinese city and out of another, for the same price as a return from the same destination,” she says.
“This means someone who is doing business in Guangzhou and also Wuhan, could take the fast train from the south up to Wuhan and return to Australia via Hong Kong on the same ticket.”
Cathay Pacific also offers a new business class seat on most flights from Sydney to Hong Kong, which will also be rolled out in 2012 from other ports.
“It is an exceptionally comfortable seat. It is a long and wide seat and works brilliantly as a completely flat bed or as the perfect spot from which to do work. Every detail has been considered - from the position of the powerpoint to the USB port. If you want privacy, you have it; if you want to chat to a colleague sitting nearby, you can do this too,” said Olrichs.
She advises business travellers who have to keep an eye on budget – and who doesn’t these days – to take advantage of advance bookings wherever possible, and advises them to look for flexibility in their ticketing like the ability to fly into one city and out of another.
“Frequent travellers should also talk to us about our corporate travel solutions which offer highly competitive fares to Hong Kong and beyond in both business and economy, as well as complimentary Marco Polo Club membership and other discounts,” she says.
Travellers from Australia should also be advised that Cathay Pacific is introducing a new Premium Economy Class, which will be progressively introduced on its long-haul flights from March 2012 (including Sydney) and will soon be available for passengers booking for flights departing from April 2012 onwards. At the same time, the airline announced that it will progressively introduce a new Economy Class seat on the majority of its long-haul aircraft, also beginning from March.
“Premium Economy will be a real upgrade over Economy, and passengers will get great value for a great product. The seat will have a generous recline and plenty of legroom, and passengers will also enjoy improved service and many other extras,” said Olrichs.
The new Premium Economy product will reportedly feature a quieter, more spacious cabin than the existing Economy Class with between 26 and 34 seats. Customers will be offered a range of tailored products on the ground and in the air to provide a new kind of experience when travelling on the airline.