Brisbane scores yet another airline partner

Residents of Brisbane and Queensland can rejoice, because Brisbane Airport has been put on the map.

Well, by Air China that is. The airline has announced new direct flights between Beijing and Brisbane from December – and is the airports 32nd airline partner.

This is the second partnership to be announced as a result of the Queensland State Government’s ‘Connecting with Asia’ initiative – following daily China Eastern Airways services between Brisbane and Shanghai.

Julieanne Alroe, BAC CEO and Managing Director, congratulated the Queensland State Government for launching the initiative in 2016.

“This is another exceptional result for the ‘Connecting with Asia’ Consortium all of whom are working tirelessly in this space to attract new airlines such as Air China to our city and secure additional direct services or capacity on existing routes.

“These services are crucial for growing and supporting Queensland’s important tourism, trade, business and education industry sectors, while making our city and state a prime gateway for Chinese visitors and removing the need for Queensland travellers to transit via other ports,” she said.

“Quite simply, these new services would not have been secured without the financial support provided by the State Government and matching funds from industry partners.

“I look forward to welcoming Air China to Brisbane and we look forward to building a long and successful partnership with the Air China team,” Alroe added.

The new direct routes mean that Brisbane travellers will be able to travel on Air China to 18 points in Europe, nine points in North America and basically anywhere in China and Asia. The service is set to operate four times per week – making it a massive win for Brisbane and Queensland.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said securing new direct flights from one of China’s largest markets would also provide a boost to tourism and local jobs.

“Brisbane has an increasing amount of leisure and lifestyle opportunities and we look forward to Chinese visitors enjoying everything we have to offer – including our clean and green outdoors, shopping, dining, galleries and hotels,” Quirk said.

“The new Air China flights will also provide more investment and business opportunities and attract more international students, continuing to boost our economy, create more jobs and further position Brisbane as a New World City.”