Qantas expected to launch new flight service

Beginning next March, Australian flag carrier Qantas will offer semi-weekly, non-stop flights between Melbourne and Shanghai, according to the company’s Beijing office. The new service will include the use of two-class Airbus A330 aircraft, departing Shanghai for Melbourne on Mondays and Fridays, and returning from Melbourne to Shanghai on Tuesdays and Saturdays. “With booming trade and tourism between China and Australia, Qantas had been steadily developing its China operations since the Shanghai service started in 2004," said John Borghetti, executive general manager of Qantas. He further said that, beginning in March 2008, Qantas will offer 10 air services a week to China -- five between Sydney and Shanghai, three between Sydney and Beijing and the additional two new services to and from Melbourne. It is expected that Qantas’ flights to Beijing will increase in the coming 2008 Olympic Games.