49 weekly flights to 5 Chinese cities once the expansion is completed on July 30, 2025
Emirates plans to increase its flights to China to 49 weekly flights from July 2025, comprising two daily flights to each of Beijing and Shanghai and a daily flight to Guangzhou, with the launch of a new daily service to Shenzhen from July 1, followed by a daily service to Hangzhou from July 30, making Hangzhou the airline's fifth destination in China.
The move follows the airline's signing of a memorandum of understanding with "Air China" on the sidelines of the 81st Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association "IATA" in New Delhi, to set a strategic framework for expanding their codeshare agreement and developing cooperation in air cargo and frequent flyer programs, according to the Emirates website.
For his part, Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates, said Emirates began its partnership with "Air China" 26 years ago, and since 2018 more than 18,000 travelers have benefited from the expanded connectivity options, adding that with the addition of Shenzhen and Hangzhou and the strengthening of its investments in the Chinese market, Emirates seeks to meet growing demand and open new horizons for trade and travel.
In a related context, Yan Fei, Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations at "Air China", affirmed that the signing of the memorandum represents an important step in deepening the partnership, adding that Air China will work with Emirates to expand the network of destinations between China, the UAE and global markets, in support of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Flight Details
The new flights to Shenzhen will be operated with Boeing B777-300ER aircraft equipped with a Premium Economy cabin, while the Hangzhou service will be operated daily with a similar aircraft, giving travelers enhanced options.
The new expansion is equivalent to an increase of about 40% in Emirates' seat capacity to China compared with pre-pandemic levels, supporting the growth of tourism and trade between the two countries.
Aspects of upcoming cooperation: under the memorandum, the two airlines will explore:
Expanding the codeshare to include flights beyond Beijing and Dubai, providing seamless bookings and single tickets for travelers.
Aligning flight schedules to reduce transit times via Dubai and Beijing and increase efficiency in connections to global markets.
Cooperation in air cargo, particularly in the e-commerce and precision electronics sectors, to support supply chains between the Gulf and China.
Exchanging best practices in revenue management, data analytics and digital transformation, along with joint work on sustainable fuel solutions.
The expansion keeps pace with the rapid growth in the number of Chinese tourists to Dubai, who exceeded 824,000 visitors in 2024, an increase of 31% over 2023.
To view the post on the Emirates website, click here.
