Round-the-World Segment: €1,509 One-Way Hainan Airlines Business Class Melbourne to Madrid (with China Stopover)
One-way tickets to or from Australia in economy class are regularly available starting around €400. Finding deals in business class, however, is much more challenging. Award tickets are usually your best option—provided you have enough miles and can actually find award availability. Alternatively, Hainan Airlines currently has a fairly attractive offer. The Chinese carrier (holding […]
One-way tickets to or from Australia in economy class are regularly available starting around €400. Finding deals in business class, however, is much more challenging. Award tickets are usually your best option—provided you have enough miles and can actually find award availability. Alternatively,Hainan Airlinescurrently has a fairly attractive offer. The Chinese carrier (holding a controversial 5-star rating fromSkytrax) offers business class tickets from Melbourne to Madrid starting at €1,509. The catch: you face alayover of at least 17 hoursin Haikou (Hainan). It therefore makes more sense to spend a few days on the resort island—meaning booking arealstopover. The flights also include a second layover in Chongqing, China. You will likely have to deplane there, as the connection lasts around 3 hours. TipAlternatively, flights are available fromAuckland (New Zealand) to Milan/ Madridfrom €1,575, with availability running through spring 2027. Availability on the Melbourne – Madrid route is openthrough October 2026. If you want to book a itinerary with a stopover, you may need to experiment a bit to find matching dates. You can use the form below to search directly onTrip. com:The flights from Melbourne to Haikou (Hainan) are operated by Hainan Airlines using an Airbus A330. Several cabin layouts exist, but according to the seat map, you should expect the older configuration featuring lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 layout (similar to what is found on airlines like LOT or Turkish Airlines). As mentioned earlier, the Haikou – Chongqing – Madrid route includes an approximately 3-hour layover in Chongqing. You will likely have to deplane during this stop. Firsthand flight reviews are not yet available, as this route only launched in June. On the remaining flights, Hainan operates Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Hainan uses several cabin variations on these planes as well. The current seat map displays a 1-2-1 layout featuring reverse herringbone seats with direct aisle access for every passenger. This appears to correspond tothis layouton AeroLopa. You can expect seats similar to these on the Airbus A330Reverse Herringbone (Cirrus III) on the Boeing 787 DreamlinerImages © Hainan AirlinesEntry RequirementsThe following entry regulations apply (for most European passport holders):Australia:Visa or ETA required (e. g. ,free eVisitor visafor stays of up to 3 months)China:Visa-free travel for up to 30 days is available through December 2026Search & BookThefare ruleslist March 31, 2027, as the expiration date. However, this is unlikely to be accurate, as the fare is only available for departures through late October 2026. You can find available dates usingGoogle Flights. It is also a good starting point if you want to book a flight with a stopover in Hainan. Once you find a suitable one-way date, switch to the multi-city search and enter the individual segments: Melbourne – Haikou | Haikou – Madrid. You can then book directly onHainan Airlinesor viaTrip. com. Miles & PointsTickets are issued in booking class D (MEL – HAK) and booking class R (HAK – CKG – MAD). Mileage accrual is likely restricted to the following programs:You can also earn points with Hainan’s Fortune Wings Club, where you can expect around 25,100 points.