Juneyao Air has celebrated the first anniversary of its direct Shanghai-Sydney flights, welcoming more than 100,000 passengers onboard since the inaugural service touched down at Sydney Airport late last year.
Flight HO1669, from Shanghai to Sydney, touched down at Mascot on 17 December 2024, at 6:30am, and became the ninth Chinese mainland carrier to operate at Sydney Airport. While official third quarter figures had the number of Juneyao Air passengers at 88,800, with eight being an auspicious number in Chinese culture, the latest figures, as at end of October had 103,538 passengers carried by the airline since its inaugural flight.
Sydney Airport Chief Aviation Officer Greg Botham said 160,000 Australian passengers had since transited through China last year, an increase of 25 per cent on the previous year.
The airline operates four direct services a week from Sydney to Shanghai, which will rise to daily during the 2025 lunar new year period. Sydney Airport now offers the highest seat capacity to mainland China of any Australian airport.
China is Sydney Airport’s third largest markets and Shanghai is the leading gateway within that market. Attractions include Legoland and Disneyland.
To celebrate the milestone, Juneyao Air hosted a media and partner breakfast at Sydney Seaplanes in Rose Bay, taking guests on a scenic flight over the harbour before returning for breakfast and official proceedings, followed by the cutting of a birthday cake.
Senior Juneyao Air staff flew in for the event, including the inaugural flight’s pilot, Jiangtao Feng, who is Juneyao Air’s Safety Director, Peilan Sun, General Manager of Customer Perception. Also present was Jennifer Tung, Regional Director North Asia at Destination NSW.
China recently extended its 30-day visa entry for Australians.
