Starting April 2019, visiting family may become a lot quicker for a lot of expats. London’s Heathrow Airport will be connected to Chengdu via a new direct flight with Air China, allowing for easier travel to and from the two big cities.
Air China have announced the launch of a new route between Chengdu’s Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) and London Heathrow (LHR). This is part of a recent rise in direct flights to Heathrow and other major cities, with China International Airlines Corporation opening their own direct flight last July.
Flights between Heathrow and Chengdu have failed in the past, with British Airways cancelling its service four years after opening it in 2013. However, Air China is a more well known in Chengdu, and may stand a better chance of maintaining a successful service than those that came before it.
The route is scheduled to open on April 2 2019, and will feature three weekly flights operated by an Airbus A330-200. This flight will have 30 business and 207 economy seats.
CA423 will depart Chengdu at 12:25 local time and arrive in Heathrow at 16:45 local time. The return flight, CA424, will depart Heathrow at 22:00 local time and arrive in Chengdu at 15:25 the next day. Flights will operate on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
