Flying Home for Christmas? Shanghai Is Adding More International Flights

A flight home to London, a trip to Australia, or a short break in Southeast Asia: several familiar destinations are on China Eastern’s list for more flights from Shanghai this winter. The airline’s October 16 announcement sets out a network update centred on Shanghai Pudong, alongside services for getting to the airport and connecting with trains.

Is your destination on the list?

For Europe-bound travellers, London Heathrow is among the routes where China Eastern plans to increase frequencies during the coming winter season. The announcement names destinations rather than setting out a route-by-route timetable of additional weekly departures.

Frankfurt and St. Petersburg are also included. Together with Heathrow, they form the European destinations named in the update; the changes are not limited to a single country or one long-haul route.

Australia, New Zealand and a shorter getaway

In Australia, the airline lists Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Auckland is also included, while the Southeast Asian routes named are Kuala Lumpur, Phuket and Ho Chi Minh City. All are part of the planned frequency increases from Shanghai Pudong.

The frequency changes sit alongside recently opened direct routes from Shanghai to Tbilisi and Adelaide. These are described as new route options in the announcement, separately from the increases on the existing routes listed above.

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The journey starts before the airport

China Eastern’s app has a “畅易行” section for services including airport parking, booked car transfers and door-to-door baggage delivery. Travellers in eligible cabins can claim vouchers there and reserve the relevant service. The cabin condition matters: these benefits are not described as automatically included with every ticket.

The airline also highlights its Suzhou and Kunshan city terminals, the GWS high-speed-rail digital terminal and the Hongqiao transfer service centre. These bring services such as check-in and baggage handling forward in the journey, allowing passengers to complete procedures before reaching the airport.

One order for the train and plane

If your journey includes a railway connection, the updated “空铁联订” service combines air and rail tickets in one order. It can be accessed from the homepage of China Eastern’s app or mini-program. The airline says the product covers 56 hub cities and reaches 1,035 railway stations across China.

The advertised combined-booking reduction is up to RMB80 for domestic itineraries and up to RMB200 for international itineraries. Those figures are maximum discounts, rather than a promise of the same saving on every booking. Alongside air-and-rail tickets, the airline says it is upgrading its air-to-air and air-to-bus transfer products.

Source: China Eastern Airlines

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