World's longest 'direct' flight prepares for takeoff

The launch of the world's longest "direct" flight connecting Shanghai with Argentina's capital Buenos Aires by China Eastern Air Holding marks an important step in Chinese aviation companies' globalization and provides the latest proof of the global operating capability of China's civil aviation, experts said on Tuesday.

Scheduled to be launched on Dec 4, the 20,000-kilometer route between China's economic hub and Buenos Aires, with a stop in Auckland, New Zealand, will connect the eastern and western hemispheres and shorten travel time between the two cities to 25 hours, according to the Shanghai-based carrier.

"The launch of the Argentina route is an important part of the globalization strategy of Chinese airlines," said Zheng Hongfeng, founder and CEO of aviation data and solutions provider VariFlight.

According to Zheng, the current record holder for the world's longest "direct" flight is Air China's service between Beijing and Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a stopover in Madrid, Spain.

"The ability to operate ultra-long routes is regarded as one of the most important criteria in measuring global hub operators. The operation of long-haul routes demonstrates the nation's international operating capacity in civil aviation," said Lin Zhijie, an aviation industry analyst and a columnist at China's civil aviation website carnoc.com.

"The availability of regular flights linking major South American capitals with Beijing and Shanghai signifies the further expansion of China's international route network into the most distant South American market," Lin added.

"The greatest value of the Shanghai-Buenos Aires flight is that China Eastern has found its own position in participating in the development of the multilateral global aviation network, and only in this way can Chinese aviation companies grow stronger amid fierce global competition," Zheng said.

"As of 2024, nearly 4 billion of the world's 8.1 billion people live in East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia — less than one quarter of the global land area — reflecting a highly uneven population distribution," said Zheng.

According to him, China's aviation industry must look beyond the saturated domestic market and bilateral international routes to seek growth in the multilateral market.

"With this flight, we can not only reach Argentina, but also expand to more destinations in South America," Zheng noted.

Interim reports indicate that opening the international routes has been a key driver in revenue improvement for China's three major carriers in the first half of the year.

As a result of its international expansion and cost control measures, China Eastern posted the smallest net loss among the three carriers. The airline opened 14 new international and regional routes in the first six months, becoming the Chinese carrier with the most international destinations.

Due to the extreme distance and current aircraft performance limits, the Shanghai-Buenos Aires flight will include a stopover in New Zealand. Compared with the conventional northward route that requires transfers in Europe or North America, this new southward route will reduce total travel time from up to 30 hours to about 25 hours. Passengers will also benefit from visa-free transit in Auckland and a smaller time difference upon arrival, China Eastern said.

"While offering smoother travel, ultra-long routes pose significant challenges, including local marketing in South America, maintenance and resource support, transoceanic operations, and long duty shifts for crew members. Stable operation will be the key," Lin said.

Shanghai and Buenos Aires are located on opposite ends of the Earth, making the new route the world's first commercial flight connecting two antipodal cities, and the longest direct flight globally.

After the launch on Dec 4, the route will operate regularly every Monday and Thursday, said the carrier.

The Shanghai-Auckland-Buenos Aires route is regarded as a key initiative in building an "Air Silk Road "between the Asia-Pacific and South America, according to Wang Zhiqing, chairman of China Eastern Air Holding.

"China Eastern plans to expand cooperation to develop more South American routes via New Zealand, contributing to the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Wang at an agreement signing ceremony between China Eastern and Auckland Airport in Shanghai on June 18.