Summary
- Air China is expanding its route network with latest flights from Beijing to Istanbul starting on December twenty ninth.
- The thrice-weekly service can be operated by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
- The route is a component of the growing connections between China and Istanbul, with Turkish Airlines already serving Beijing and China Southern Airlines connecting Istanbul with Beijing Daxing International Airport.
Star Alliance carrier Air China is expanding its route network in the ultimate days of the yr. The airline has added flights to Istanbul from its Bejing hub, with the primary plane set to the touch down on Friday.
Arriving in style
The thrice-weekly service begins on Friday, December twenty ninth, with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft. In keeping with aviation analytics firm Ciruim data, the 4,399-mile link is blocked out to take eleven hours on the outbound leg from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) and just over ten and a half hours on the return journey. Flights are scheduled to depart on Sundays, Fridays, and Wednesdays.
Flight |
Departure |
Arrival |
CA859 |
PEK – 02:00 |
IST – 08:00 |
CA860 |
IST – 14:55 |
PEK – 05:30 +1 |
Photo: Airbus
Home carrier Turkish Airlines already serves Beijing with a each day Boeing 777-300ER service. The 2 carriers are each a part of the Star Alliance, allowing for convenient connections through Istanbul. Indirect competition is provided by China Southern Airlines, which connects Istanbul with Beijing Daxing International Airport, also using an Airbus A330 3 times per week.
Air China is the second carrier so as to add flights between Istanbul Airport (IST) and China this yr. China Eastern Airlines began a direct flight from its base in Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to Istanbul on September twenty eighth, also 3 times weekly.
Air China with an Airbus
The airline is using its Airbus A330-300 aircraft on the route. The widebody is configured to hold 273 passengers, split between 30 seats in business class and 207 in economy. Starting next yr, Air China will offer just over 3,000 seats in each direction per thirty days. This represents a 17.7% market share on the town pair. China Southern carries barely more passengers on account of the denser configuration of its A330s, coming in with 21.3% of passengers. Turkish Airlines’s each day operation transports the remaining 61% of passengers.
Photo: Airbus
In keeping with Aviation Week, this corresponds to a rise of twenty-two% over pre-pandemic traffic numbers.
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Beijing Capital Airport is coming off of a busy yr. Last week, Azerbaijan Airlines commenced flights from PEK to Baku every Tuesday and Thursday. In keeping with the airport’s website, it now offers connections to 75 destinations in 47 countries on five continents. Airport officials expect the international and regional passenger volume to be close to eight million for your complete yr.
Photo: Airbus
This route can be a historic one for Istanbul Airport, which earlier this month celebrated the arrival of its 99th carrier when fellow Star Alliance member Thai Airways began each day service to Bangkok, a route it last served the route in 1998. Air China’s arrival will mark the one hundredth airline to serve the relatively latest airport. Officials on the airport previously expressed a goal of reaching 100 airlines to rejoice the one hundredth anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye, which occurred this October.