China Eastern Airlines confirmed on 31 October that it will raise Shanghai–Delhi frequencies from three to five weekly flights starting 2 January 2026, deploying Airbus A330-200 wide-bodies. The announcement follows IndiGo’s 26 October resumption of Kolkata–Guangzhou flights, ending a five-year freeze in direct passenger services between Asia’s two largest populations.
The extra rotations are expected to add nearly 1,000 weekly seats, improving connectivity for Indian IT and pharmaceutical firms with operations in Suzhou and Shanghai’s Pudong Software Park, and for Chinese manufacturers sourcing APIs from Haryana and Hyderabad. Forwarders note belly-hold cargo capacity will rise correspondingly, benefiting cross-border e-commerce sellers ahead of India’s festive season.
Diplomatically, the move signals a thaw in travel relations after pandemic restrictions and border tensions curtailed people-to-people exchanges. India’s civil-aviation ministry has hinted that Air India and Spring Airlines may soon lodge applications for Mumbai and Chengdu services, which would restore the bilateral seat-entitlement to 70 % of its pre-2020 level.
Travel managers should re-evaluate preferred-carrier agreements: China Eastern is offering through-fares that interline with domestic Chinese and onward North American flights, potentially shaving total journey times. Visa facilitation remains the biggest bottleneck—Delhi still issues only limited categories of Chinese work visas, while Beijing keeps quarantine-free access conditional on negative RT-PCR tests within 48 hours.
Nonetheless, the frequency bump marks tangible progress toward the long-term goal of 42 weekly flights enshrined in the 2015 bilateral air-services agreement, and provides a fresh conduit for assignees displaced by “third-country” routings via Hong Kong or Singapore.
The extra rotations are expected to add nearly 1,000 weekly seats, improving connectivity for Indian IT and pharmaceutical firms with operations in Suzhou and Shanghai’s Pudong Software Park, and for Chinese manufacturers sourcing APIs from Haryana and Hyderabad. Forwarders note belly-hold cargo capacity will rise correspondingly, benefiting cross-border e-commerce sellers ahead of India’s festive season.
Diplomatically, the move signals a thaw in travel relations after pandemic restrictions and border tensions curtailed people-to-people exchanges. India’s civil-aviation ministry has hinted that Air India and Spring Airlines may soon lodge applications for Mumbai and Chengdu services, which would restore the bilateral seat-entitlement to 70 % of its pre-2020 level.
Travel managers should re-evaluate preferred-carrier agreements: China Eastern is offering through-fares that interline with domestic Chinese and onward North American flights, potentially shaving total journey times. Visa facilitation remains the biggest bottleneck—Delhi still issues only limited categories of Chinese work visas, while Beijing keeps quarantine-free access conditional on negative RT-PCR tests within 48 hours.
Nonetheless, the frequency bump marks tangible progress toward the long-term goal of 42 weekly flights enshrined in the 2015 bilateral air-services agreement, and provides a fresh conduit for assignees displaced by “third-country” routings via Hong Kong or Singapore.
