Air Transport

China Southern Airlines is doubling its services to Australia due to increasing demand.

The Guangzhou-based carrier will start a thrice-weekly non-stop Guangzhou-Melbourne service on 26 October, replacing its thrice-weekly one-stop service via Sydney.

A five-times weekly Guangzhou-Sydney service will be maintained, and this will increase to a daily service for the peak holiday travel season from 2 December to 20 February, says the carrier.

All of its flights to Australia use Airbus A330-200s, it adds.

"Demand for travel to and from China is continuing to grow both from Sydney and Melbourne," says China Southern regional manager for Australia, James Liu. The services cater to tourist and business traffic, he adds.

China Southern also hopes to attract passengers who will transit in Guangzhou before travelling to other regions like northeast Asia and Europe, says Liu.