China Eastern Airlines to Boost Capacity for 2026 Summer–Autumn Flight Season with 823 Passenger Aircraft, over 3,200 Daily Flights

SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--China Eastern Airlines (CEAir) recently unveiled its plan to boost service capacity for the 2026 summer–autumn flight season starting March 29, with 823 passenger aircraft, including 14 domestically produced C919 jetliners, operating over 950 routes.

Its daily flights are expected to exceed 3,200, up 1.3 percent year on year, according to the airline.

Following its hub-focused strategy, CEAir plans to further increase flight frequencies and optimize route network and flight schedules in a bid to strengthen connectivity and transfer efficiency at key hubs in major Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an, Kunming, and Chengdu.

Its premium service network, “Air Express,” is expected to expand to 47 domestic routes and four international routes.

The airline aims to elevate its average weekly international and regional departures to 1,400, with Europe-bound departures exceeding 160 (up 24 percent YoY), and Southeast Asia-bound departures surpassing 500 (up 13 percent YoY).

Routes to South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries and regions will also experience varying increases in weekly departures.

A total of 30 new international and regional routes are expected to be launched during the new flight season, including a route between Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and Vienna, as well as routes connecting Shanghai and Tashkent (starting March 30), Adelaide, Cheongju, and Tbilisi.

Flight frequencies will be increased on 14 existing international and regional routes linking Shanghai and global destinations, including Venice, Barcelona, and Singapore.

Around the summer vacation period (July-August), a batch of routes will be resumed or newly introduced, including international and regional routes between Shanghai and Stockholm, Dublin, Zurich, Mumbai, and Ulaanbaatar.

The airline also plans to further enhance passenger experience through new and upgraded services.

Complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi will be available across all classes on wide-body aircraft operated by CEAir and its subsidiary Shanghai Airlines on routes between China and Australia, New Zealand, and surrounding regions.