China Eastern starts flights between Auckland and Argentina
By Andrew Curran.
China Eastern Airlines has started flights between Auckland and Argentina. The twice-weekly fifth freedom flights to Buenos Aires (MU745/746) operated by a B777-300ER are a continuation of the airline's daily round-trips between Shanghai (PVG) and Auckland (AKL). The new service makes China Eastern the second airline to currently fly between New Zealand and South America.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon first announced the flights to Buenos Aires (EZE) in June. At Auckland Airport last week, his tourism and hospitality minister, Louise Upston, said international tourism is an important part of the government’s focus on economic growth.
“It’s great to see this new route launching between Asia and South America via New Zealand, improving air connectivity and supporting travel, trade and tourism,” Upston said.
“We are very firmly focused on growing tourism beyond 2019 levels and China Eastern's southern link marks a new milestone for New Zealand as a tourism and trade gateway.”
Refuelling stop needed for mammoth China Eastern flight
While there is some demand for travel between China and Argentina (almost 100,000 passengers annually), it is the length of the flight (around 20,000 kilometres and up to 29 hours each way) that requires a refuelling stop and New Zealand’s biggest city is roughly midway along the route.
A happy consequence of this is that the new China Eastern flights between Auckland and Argentina offer Australians and New Zealanders a handy new South American flight option.
The only other scheduled service between New Zealand and South America is the LATAM flight between Auckland and Santiago (SCL). Both Air New Zealand and Aerolíneas Argentinas formerly flew between Auckland and Buenos Aires. However, in recent years, the route remained unserved.
In addition to LATAM’s Auckland service, that airline also flies to Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL) from Santiago, while Qantas also works the Sydney – Santiago route.
However, no other airlines regularly fly the South Pacific's lower latitudes.
To service that market, China Eastern successfully applied for fifth freedom rights to carry passengers between New Zealand and Argentina, independently of its Shanghai origin.
"Our geographic location provides an ideal stepping stone between Australia, Asia, South Pacific and both North and South America,” said Auckland Airport CEO Carrie Hurihanganui when the new China Eastern flights were first announced.
“There is an opportunity here for New Zealand to grow beyond being the final stop on a long-haul flight to be a vital aviation hub connecting people and goods."
Auckland Airport keen to ditch end of line status
Auckland Airport, New Zealand’s busiest, expects its customer airlines to provide around 5.8 million seats on international services between November 2025 and March 2026, inclusive. That’s up 3.7% on the same period last year but still 8% down on the 2018/19 summer season.
The airport is keen to capitalise on through services, like the new Buenos Aires flights, rather than those that simply terminate and turn around - as almost all currently do.
The China Eastern flights to Argentina depart Shanghai in the early hours every Thursday and Monday morning. Flying time to Auckland is around 11.5 hours. After a two-hour refuelling stop there, the aircraft takes off for Buenos Aires, taking 12 hours to complete the second leg. The B777 lands late on Thursday and Monday afternoon.
The return flight leaves the Argentinian capital in the early hours every Tuesday and Friday morning, taking over 14 hours to fly to Auckland, landing there after dawn the following day. After a two-hour layover, the aircraft continues to Shanghai, arriving late on Wednesday and Friday afternoon after a 12.5-hour flight.
The three cabin B777-300ER used by China Eastern on the Buenos Aires route seats 316 passengers, including 258 in economy, 52 in business, and six in first.
Photo: Auckland Airport.
Map: GCMApper.com.