Air China will introduce additional nonstop services between Melbourne and Beijing during December, and expand seasonal capacity on its Sydney-Beijing route over the Lunar New Year period, as the carrier also launches a new route connecting Beijing with Budapest and Zagreb.
On the Melbourne route, Air China will operate an extra Beijing-Melbourne return service, CA165/CA166, on 3 December, followed by twice-weekly additional services on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 to 31 December.
The extra flights will be operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Flight CA165 will depart Beijing at 1.15am, arriving Melbourne at 3.40pm, while CA166 will depart Melbourne at 8.15pm, arriving Beijing at 5.15am the following day.
Air China already operates daily nonstop services between Beijing and Sydney year-round on flights CA173 and CA174. CA173 departs Beijing daily at 6.15pm, while CA174 departs Sydney at either 10.30am or 10.40am, arriving in Beijing the same day. The route is operated with Boeing 777-300W aircraft between December and February – a Boeing 777-300ER reconfigured by Air China to a two-class Business and Economy layout – and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft for the remainder of the year.
Air China will add extra Sydney-Beijing services, CA177 and CA178, across two phases to meet demand during the Lunar New Year travel period. The first phase will run from 1 December, 2026 to 14 January, 2027, operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while the second phase will run daily from 15 January to 21 February, 2027. CA177 will depart Beijing at 1.40am, arriving Sydney at 3.50pm, while CA178 will depart Sydney at 8.40pm, arriving Beijing at 5am the following day.
Separately, Air China will launch a new service linking Beijing with Budapest, Hungary, and Zagreb, Croatia, operating three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Flight CA193 will depart Beijing at 12.30am, arriving Budapest at 6.20am, before continuing to Zagreb, departing Budapest at 9.20am and arriving at 9.55am. The return service, CA194, will depart Zagreb at 11.55am, arriving Budapest at 2.25pm, before departing Budapest at 5.25pm and arriving in Beijing at 8.05am the following day.
Air China said the new route would give Australian travellers additional connection options between Australia, China and Europe via its Beijing hub.
Recent reported figures indicate that Australian visits to China reached 716,140 in the year ending March 2026, representing a 16.5 per cent year-on-year increase. March 2026 travel was also reported to be 31.2 per cent higher than March 2025, highlighting the growing appeal of China as a destination for Australian travellers.
