China Eastern Airlines announced on Monday (November 17) that it will inaugurate flight MU745/746 on 4 December, linking Shanghai Pudong with Buenos Aires via a brief technical stop in Auckland. Passengers will remain on board, allowing the carrier to market the service as a single “direct” flight – at 19,700 km and up to 29 hours westbound, the world’s longest direct commercial route. Two round-trips per week will be flown with three-class Boeing 777-300ERs.
Strategic context
• Reconnects Asia’s financial hub with South America after a five-year gap, restoring capacity lost when COVID and over-flight restrictions curbed trans-Pacific networks.
• Bolsters Beijing’s “Air Silk Road” ambitions and supports surging soy-bean and lithium trade as Argentina joins the BRICS+ framework.
• Provides Chinese corporates and expatriates in Argentina and neighbouring Brazil with one-stop access to headquarters, cutting journey time by 6-8 hours versus current multi-stop options.
![China Eastern to Open Record-Breaking Shanghai–Buenos Aires ‘Direct’ Service]()
Business implications
• Freight forwarders gain a belly-hold option ideal for high-value e-commerce and perishables between the Yangtze River Delta, Auckland and Mercosur markets.
• Travel managers should reassess preferred-carrier contracts: the route offers competitive J-class fares compared with existing routings via the Gulf or Europe.
• Argentina-based assignees will need updated tax-equalisation modelling given more frequent home leave possibilities.
Challenges
The ultra-long duty presents crew-rostering and fatigue-management hurdles, and the Auckland fifth-freedom sector requires New Zealand regulator approval every season. Jet-fuel price swings could pressure the route’s thin margins, but China Eastern is banking on cargo revenue and forward sales from Argentina’s Chinese diaspora to break even within 12 months.
Strategic context
• Reconnects Asia’s financial hub with South America after a five-year gap, restoring capacity lost when COVID and over-flight restrictions curbed trans-Pacific networks.
• Bolsters Beijing’s “Air Silk Road” ambitions and supports surging soy-bean and lithium trade as Argentina joins the BRICS+ framework.
• Provides Chinese corporates and expatriates in Argentina and neighbouring Brazil with one-stop access to headquarters, cutting journey time by 6-8 hours versus current multi-stop options.
Business implications
• Freight forwarders gain a belly-hold option ideal for high-value e-commerce and perishables between the Yangtze River Delta, Auckland and Mercosur markets.
• Travel managers should reassess preferred-carrier contracts: the route offers competitive J-class fares compared with existing routings via the Gulf or Europe.
• Argentina-based assignees will need updated tax-equalisation modelling given more frequent home leave possibilities.
Challenges
The ultra-long duty presents crew-rostering and fatigue-management hurdles, and the Auckland fifth-freedom sector requires New Zealand regulator approval every season. Jet-fuel price swings could pressure the route’s thin margins, but China Eastern is banking on cargo revenue and forward sales from Argentina’s Chinese diaspora to break even within 12 months.
