The great haul of China as China Southern Airlines offers flights from Sydney to London THE Kangaroo Route is about to become the Dragon Route. And with yum cha, Chinese tea and bok choy on the menu, travelling to Europe will have a different taste after China's largest airline confirmed flights to the region up to 50 per cent cheaper than their locally owned rivals. As national carrier Qantas seeks to shore up its Australasian routes through its recent tie-up with Emirates, China Southern Airlines has offered stand-alone flights from Sydney to London at a discount. Once dubbed the "Kangaroo Route," the Chinese airline's cheapest economy-class return fare between Sydney and London, with a three-hour stopover in Guangzhou, for a two-week trip starting early May was $1442. A Qantas spokesman last night confirmed a comparable return fare on Qantas to London started at $2207. Henry He, China Southern's managing director for Australia, last night told The Daily Telegraph the region was "vitally important" going forward, particularly given the strong "visiting friends and relatives" factor. "Our research has shown a strong Cantonese population in both Sydney and Melbourne dating back to the gold rush in the 1850s," Mr He said. From April 1, the Guangzhou-based airline will also operate more flights to Europe than Qantas - in a bid to lure traffic from Singapore and Hong Kong. The move is the first push in an ever-increasing aviation war, with China Southern recently signalling their intentions by recruiting more Australians as cabin crews and setting up a local school for "elite stewards." The airline has leased one of Sydney Airport's most expensive billboards for three years. China Southern has 42 weekly flights out of Australia, while Qantas will reduce its service to 28 a week as part of the Emirates alliance. Chinese tourists, who spent $105 billion overseas in 2012, are forecast to make 94 million trips this year, almost double the level in 2009, statistics from the China Tourism Academy have shown. Qantas last night acknowledged the increased competition on the route, but cited its "evolving service," which matched what its customers wanted. "We've been flying Australians to London for more than 50 years and we've always evolved our services to match what customers have told us they want," a spokesman said. A comfortable seat, friendly and familiar service, plenty of in-flight entertainment options, good food and wine - these are important things that make a big difference when you're on an aircraft for 20 hours. Aviation analyst Oliver Lamb last night said the rise of Chinese airlines would soon pose an "enormous challenge" for Virgin and Qantas. "They're an enormous market and China Southern is the third-biggest airline in the world," Mr Lamb said. Their margins on transferring customers to London via Guangzhou will be lower than their rivals. So it's going to be very competitive going forward.