Qantas has launched its non-stop flight between Sydney and Beijing.

The new flight is operated daily with an Airbus A330-200.

“It’s the perfect time for Qantas to fly to Beijing,” said Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas. “The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is hitting its stride and China is on track to become the number-one source of visitors to Australia within the next year or so. What’s really exciting is the potential we see for the future. We now have the Qantas Group’s biggest-ever network in Greater China, and our goal is to make our Beijing route a flagship corridor for tourism and trade.”

The airline also flies to Hong Kong from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, and to Shanghai from Sydney. It suspended flights to the Chinese capital in 2009.

The schedule for the new flight is as follows.