Air China resumes London Gatwick-Beijing route

Air China, the country's flag-carrier airline, resumed its daily service between London Gatwick Airport and Beijing on Saturday.

The first flight departing from London's second-busiest airport carried more than 240 passengers, achieving an attendance rate of more than 90 percent, according to the airline's London office.

The new route takes Air China's number of weekly non-stop flights between China and the United Kingdom to 62.

"We are tremendously excited to welcome the service to Beijing," said Jonathan Pollard, chief commercial officer at London Gatwick Airport. "Beijing is certainly a key target for us to provide those really important travel and trade links between the UK and China."

Pollard noted that the airport is also targeting secondary and tertiary cities in China, where there is significant demand for flights linking to the UK.

To better serve Chinese customers, the team is looking at introducing more Mandarin signage throughout the terminal, as well as providing payment options that Chinese passengers are more familiar with, he added.

"I am very confident we will see further developments beyond today's exciting new announcement," he said. "We regularly talk with many airlines in China, and indeed across Asia. Certainly, the information that we hear from them indicates an interest in continuing to put more services into London and Gatwick Airport."

Cao Jiacheng and Lu Sidi, two Chinese passengers taking undergraduate courses in the UK who regularly travel between London and Harbin, the capital city of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, welcomed the return of the route.

They said the service offered smoother and more relaxing flying experiences for them because it meant less travel time when connecting to Harbin upon arrival in Beijing, compared to departing from Shanghai.

Aaron Cole, a British passenger, said the increase in direct services between the two countries should also make ticket prices more affordable for travelers.

"It will make the tickets a lot cheaper," he said. "People can have more available options. So, more people can travel where they want to."