29 Hours: China Eastern Begins World's New Longest 1-Stop Route

China Eastern has made history by starting the world’s new longest one-stop scheduled passenger service. On December 4, it took off from Shanghai to Buenos Aires via Auckland. Blocked at up to 29 hours and covering 10,627 nautical miles (19,681 km) each way, OAG data shows that it has surpassed what was previously first: Aircalin from Nouméa to Paris CDG via Bangkok.

Some may wonder about the Venezuelan carrier Conviasa. It often seems like it operated on a one-stop basis from Guangzhou back to Caracas via Moscow Vnukovo. However, it usually stops in Porlamar before reaching the Venezuelan capital. As such, it does not count. Moreover, Nigeria’s Air Peace has multi-stop Caribbean flights (!) that far exceed 29 hours. But as they’re charter services, they don’t count.

China Eastern From Shanghai To Buenos Aires Via Auckland

Launched in time for Christmas and the peak season in the Southern Hemisphere, the exceptionally long route is served twice a week. It is bound to be in my next celebratory Weekly Routes article (see the most recent edition).

The new route uses the 316-seat, three-class, first-class-equipped Boeing 777-300ER. This is China Eastern’s highest-capacity aircraft (but it is nowhere near as densely packed as some of Air France’s 777s). It is also renowned for its substantial freight capacity, which is likely to be important on this new link.

Importantly, fifth freedom traffic rights exist between Auckland and Buenos Aires. It means this market has nonstop flights for the first time since early 2020, when Air New Zealand pulled out because of the pandemic. However, notice China Eastern’s schedule, with its departure time from Argentina being at the horrendous time of 2:00 am. Fancy beginning a 29-hour journey to China at that time, especially in economy class with the airline’s limited product quality?

It appears to be the first time the SkyTeam member has had passenger flights to South America. However, when all passenger carriers are included, it is the second existing service from East Asia to South America. It joins Air China, which runs from Beijing to São Paulo via Madrid. It just doesn’t take as long or cover as much distance.

Hang On: What’s The Market?!

Some 50,000+ people of Chinese birth live in Argentina, while 350,000+ people have Chinese ancestry. They comprise one of Argentina’s fastest-growing communities. However, it’s more useful to examine booking data. In the 12 months to September 2025, 96,000 round-trip passengers flew between China and Buenos Aires.

With 26,000 passengers and more than a quarter of the total, Shanghai to Buenos Aires was the most-trafficked market. Partly influenced by Argentinians now being able to visit China visa-free for up to 30 days, the point-to-point passenger volume will easily be stimulated. It’ll be good to examine the growth in a year.

Given the low frequency, China Eastern will not have many seats to fill. As such, it will hopefully be quite sensible in pricing, which will help with yields to boost the economic performance of this very long and very expensive service. It’ll primarily focus on the Shanghai-Buenos Aires market and those who fly between Auckland and Buenos Aires (more on that below). Given the carrier now has nine flights a week from Shanghai to Auckland, the new service has less need to focus explicitly on this market.

Auckland-Buenos Aires Has Been Unserved Since 2020

Aerolíneas Argentinas served Buenos Aires-Auckland for years, followed by Air New Zealand. When nonstop flights existed, the market was reasonably well-trafficked. In 2019, booking data shows that 31,000 people flew between the two cities. But in the 12 months to September 2025, barely 9,000 people traveled. Clearly, China Eastern sees a good opportunity to focus on developing this market, including freight.

Across all airlines, cabins, and passengers, the average fare between Auckland and Buenos Aires is a very strong US$1,661 each way. Strong premium traffic and the lack of airline choice were factors, with virtually everyone connecting in Santiago with LATAM. Of course, given the lack of alternatives and not too many seats to fill, China Eastern will not have to discount excessively.