China Eastern to launch Phuket-Shanghai service

PHUKET: China Eastern Airlines (CEA) has announced that it will launch a new direct flight from Shanghai to Phuket later this month. CEA will conduct the new service on a trial basis from July 18 to August 12 to assess popularity with passengers. Flight MU 5085 from Shanghai will arrive twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, at 1:20 am. Flight MU 5086 will leave for Shanghai an hour later. Twenty travel agents and tour operators from Phuket, including members of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, went to Shanghai earlier this month to test the new service, and to visit tour operators in the Chinese city.