China Eastern launches Colombo and Malé

China Eastern Airlines will be launching service to Colombo, Sri Lanka and Malé, Maldives from today.
The event turned out quite suprisingly given the very short notice at which the flight was announced.
This is the first scheduled service to Sri Lanka by any Chinese carrier, and is the first link between Kunming and Sri Lanka.
The flight was launched at a ceremony attended by high profile delegates from both countries, including Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China Mr. Karunathilaka Amunugama.
The flight operates thrice weekly on a Kunming – Colombo – Malé routing. The launch flight will reportedly operate with an Airbus A330, however an aircraft switch to either the Boeing 737 or 767 is expected.

MU713 KMG1740-2010CMB2110-2150MLE 247 EQV
MU714 MLE2240-0010+1CMB0110+1-0830+1KMG 247 EQV

Thanks to Jimmy at AirlineRoute.net for spotting this.

About The Author

Leading airline consultant and entrepreneur. Reach me on @AirlineIndustry on Twitter.