KUALA LUMPUR, 2 August 2024: China Eastern Airlines is boosting seasonal flights from China’s coastal city of Yantai to two of Southeast Asia’s capital cities, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in the northeastern Shandong province of the People’s Republic of China.
China Eastern Airlines introduced the inaugural flight from Yantai to Kuala Lumpur on 28 July scheduling twice-weekly flights through to 29 August according to airline timetable schedules. Tourism Malaysia executives and KLIA airport officials welcomed the inaugural flight at a ceremony hosted at the Tourist Information Centre Arrival Hall at Terminal 1, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, on 28 July.
The airline deployed an A320 to serve the route with direct flights departing Yantai every Wednesday and Sunday for the duration of August.
Flight MU7363 departs Yantai (YNT) at 1750 and arrives in Kuala Lumpur (KUL) at 0020 (plus a day).
Flight MU7364 departs Kuala Lumpur at 0120 and arrives in Yantai at 0750 (Mon and Thu)
Seasonal flights Yantai to Bangkok
Meanwhile, the airline will add an additional service from Yantai to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) starting this week (5 August) and running through 20 August using A320s.
China Eastern will resume three weekly flights from Yantai to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. It last flew this route in February 2020 and paused flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It delayed resuming flights as outbound group travel from China failed to recover until earlier this year.
Flight MU7367 departs Yantai(YNT) at 2240 and arrives in Bangkok (BKK) at 0315. Flights depart Yantai on Monday and Friday.
Flight MU7367 departs Yantai (YNT) at 2255 and arrives in Bangkok at 0315 (Wednesday).
Flight MU7368 departs Bangkok at 0415 and arrives in Yantai at 1025 (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday).
Yantai, China, plays a relatively minor role in airline travel to Southeast Asia for various reasons. Compared to major Chinese aviation hubs like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, Yantai is a smaller city with a correspondingly smaller airport.
There are limited direct flights, and those that operate are mainly seasonal or charter flights connecting Yantai to popular Southeast Asian tourist destinations. The number of direct flights is significantly less compared to other Chinese cities.
Travellers from Yantai are more likely to fly through one of the larger Chinese hubs, which have more options and connections to Southeast Asian capital cities and tourist destinations.
Where is Yantai?
Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in the northeastern Shandong province of the People’s Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the southwest and Weihai on the east, with sea access to both the Bohai Sea (via the Laizhou Bay and the Bohai Strait) and the Yellow Sea (from both north and south sides of the Shandong Peninsula).
It is the largest fishing seaport in Shandong. Its population reached 6,968,202 during the 2010 census, of whom 2,227,733 lived in the built-up area of the four urban districts of Zhifu, Muping, Fushan and Laishan.
(SOURCE: Airline timetable data, Tourism Malaysia and Wikipedia)
