Capital Airlines to Launch Qingdao-Melbourne Flight in Late August

By Lena Ge, China Aviation Daily 

Beijing Capital Airlines, a regional subsidiary of HNA Group, announced Thursday to launch a nonstop international service from Qingdao, Shandong Province to Melbourne, Australia in late August. 

The Beijing-based carrier will start operating the thrice-weekly Qingdao-Melbourne service from the end of this August, using Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Capital Airlines has accelerated its international expansion pace as the Chinese economy grows, which has increased outbound travel for China's citizens. In 2015, the airline has opened 27 international services, hitting a new record in its history.

Specifically, Capital Airlines began long-haul operations earlier this year with its first ever intercontinental flights connecting Beijing and Hangzhou with Copenhagen in this September.

Additional to the new Melbourne service, it is also applying to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to open several new long-haul, intercontinental routes - two flights to Birmingham from Beijing and Hangzhou scheduled in April 2016 and a thrice-weekly Hangzhou-Qingdao-Vancouver route next November.

Now, Capital Airlines operates 61 aircraft in fleet, comprising 34 Airbus A320s, 20 A320s, two A330s and five A321s. According to the carrier, it is scheduled to take delivery of 12 Airbus aircraft this year and expand its fleet size to more than 150 by 2020.