China Eastern Airlines will start operating first nonstop flights from Sydney to Hangzhou, the capital of East China's Zhejiang Province on November 15, with the route continuing onwards to Beijing.

The Shanghai-based carrier will operate the Beijing-Hangzhou-Sydney service thrice weekly, using 234-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft, said Sydney Airport.

The outbound flight MU771 will depart from Beijing at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrive in Sydney at 1:30 p.m. the next day, with a stopover in Hangzhou from 10:15 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. The return flight MU712 will leave Sydney at 10:15 p.m. on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays to reach Hangzhou at 5:50 a.m. the following morning, before landing in Beijing at 10:10 a.m.

China Eastern's new Hangzhou service will mark the 12th mainland Chinese city served by Sydney Airport, Sydney Airport Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kerrie Mather said.

Meanwhile, it's also the airline's third route to Sydney, after Nanjing-Sydney and Shanghai Pudong-Sydney services.

China Eastern also plans to boost the Shanghai-Sydney service to twice-daily from mid-December.

The airline will be the only operator on the Hangzhou-Sydney route. It already competes with various operators on the Beijing-Hangzhou route, including Air China, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.